Paralegal III

Justice • Wake County, NC

1d • $61,600

About The Position

The North Carolina Department of Justice, led by the Attorney General of North Carolina, represents the state, state agencies, and elected officials, and defends the rights of the people of North Carolina. The Department handles all state criminal appeals cases and assists district attorneys with complex criminal cases at their request. Additionally, the Department of Justice includes the North Carolina State Crime Lab, the North Carolina Justice Academy, and the Sheriffs’ and Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Divisions.

The Appellate and Post-Conviction Section of the Criminal Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice is to represent the State in criminal matters after a defendant’s trial is completed. This includes: (1) direct appeals of criminal convictions in any of the judicial districts of the State before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of North Carolina as well as state post-conviction petitions filed in the State Appellate Courts;(2) to research and prepare the State’s briefs and present oral argument in federal habeas corpus litigation in the federal district courts and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals; (3)the attorneys in the section handle the most difficult and complex criminal appeals and petitions, and therefore, because of their expertise, also serve as resources for all of the attorneys in the Department of Justice who handle occasional criminal appeals as part of their duties through the criminal brief rotation; (4) the section attorneys also represent the State of North Carolina in capital (death penalty) litigation, particularly at the state and federal post-conviction levels before the North Carolina Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the lower federal courts; (5) assist District Attorneys in all aspects of such state capital litigation, both at trial and in post-conviction proceedings; (6) act as liaison with Attorneys General and prosecutors on criminal law issues; (7) the section attorneys represent the State in non-capital state post-conviction petitions filed upon request of the District Attorneys and approval of the Criminal Bureau Chief; (8) the section also has the responsibility to defend against non-capital federal habeas corpus actions filed in federal courts by State prisoners seeking to overturn their North Carolina state court convictions, and thereby prevent expensive and time-consuming retrials or the premature release of criminals who cannot be retried.

Requirements

• Graduation from an appropriately accredited institution for paralegal training and three years of experience as a paralegal; or
• Bachelor’s degree from an appropriately accredited institution and three years of substantive paralegal experience; or
• High school or General Education Development (GED) diploma and seven years of paralegal experience performing delegated, substantive legal work; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide paralegal and clerical support to Appellate and Post-conviction attorneys preparing the State’s briefs, motions, petitions, responses and other legal documents.
• Proof, cite check, run tables of contents and authorities for filings and other duties for the section as needed.
• Prepare templates for documents, proofread and edit all documents, prepare the Tables of Authorities, Tables of Content and Appendixes for briefs and other appellate filings.
• Electronically file documents in the United States and North Carolina courts.
• Prepare service copies and exhibits for filings.
• Collect and prepare discovery documents for capital and non-capital criminal cases.
• Check citations to applicable legal authorities, make corrections as necessary and independently make review decisions with minimal review in making final edits.
• Organize attorney case information and manage document collection and/or storage.
• Track attorney cases.

Benefits

• The State of North Carolina offers employer paid health insurance plus twelve paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, dental, vision, and other insurance options, and retirement benefits.
• You can view our benefits information at Employee Benefits .

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level