Monthly Attorney Orientation
For Lawyers who are New to Indigent Defense
Beginning August 1, IDS staff will provide orientation for new attorneys on the first Friday of each month from 1-2 p.m.
Topics will include a guided tour of the IDS website, information on training and CLE opportunities, access to wellness resources and more. You will also be able to connect with other defense attorneys for future collaboration!
2026 IDS Forensic Science Education Series
IDS and the Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office provide regular continuing education to dozens of NC criminal defense and parent attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists who attend the IDS Forensic Science Education Series.
In 2026, we will offer monthly 90-minute webinars on various aspects of forensic evidence. These webinars will take place typically at 12:30 pm on the first Thursday of each month. Click here to view the 2026 Schedule.
The first six sessions of 2026 will focus on understanding and advocating for neurodivergent clients.
- This event has passed.
Before, During and After Prison
The Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office is hosting a free to attend in person or live webcast presentation on Before, During and After Prison: One Man’s Journey through the Criminal System.
Pending approval by the NC State Bar, this presentation is for 1 general hour and you must complete the post-CLE survey to submit your attendance.
Please register here:
When: Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:30-1:30
Where: The Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office 4th floor conference room [720 E 4th St Charlotte] or anyplace you have internet. Everyone who registers will receive a link to join the day before. The conference room will open by 12:15pm.
What: The presenter has firsthand knowledge of being prosecuted, convicted, sentenced to prison and released. He will talk about his experience being defended, at first, by an assistant public defender before his family hired an attorney. From this experience, he will share what worked and didn’t during his representation by both an assistant public defender and private defense attorney. He will then discuss his experience in prison, so the criminal defense attorney has a better idea of what their clients may experience in prison. With this knowledge, the attorney will be able to better argue for sentences that either do not involve prison or are less time in prison. The presenter will share his experiences after release from prison and the challenges and surprises he faced so the criminal defense attorney can know what their clients may face and are better able to inform those clients now. Finally, he will discuss the creation of the non-profit OurJourney that assists others who are released from prison.
Who: Brian Scott was arrested in 2001 and spent 20 years in the North Carolina state prison system. One year after his release, he used his own struggles with reentry as motivation to found OurJourney, a statewide nonprofit organization that works to make the reentry experience more successful and easier to navigate for others.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
