Session 6: ACEs Informed Law Enforcement, Prosecution and Courts
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments (ACEs) can have profoundly negative impacts on children and increase the likelihood that these children will end up in the courtroom as a victim or a defendant. In this presentation, a North Carolina District Attorney of a rural and suburban district will explore best practices and strategies for addressing adverse consequences within the legal system. The process of bringing law enforcement, the defense, the prosecution, and the court system together to create a more trauma-informed justice system that has won state-wide recognition for its efforts will be discussed.
Benjamin David (Moderator)
District Attorney
Ben David has served as an elected District Attorney since 2004 and has been unopposed in the last four elections. He is a past president of the NC Conference of District Attorneys and currently holds executive office in the National District Attorney’s Association, chairing the commission on community outreach.
Ben has served on the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, the Governor’s Gang
Task Force, and is a founding member of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and
Incarceration. He currently co-chairs the Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts
focuses on making court officials more trauma informed. He has traveled extensively to over
50 countries and has served as a delegate on the American Council of Young Political Leaders.
Ben is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Florida (1992) and graduated in the top 10
percent of his class from Wake Forest University School of Law. He was an associate attorney in
the trademark litigation section of the Intellectual Property group at Petree Stockton (now Kilpatrick
Townsend & Stockton) before joining the District Attorney’s Office in 1999.
Ben is the author of many articles that have appeared in magazines, newspapers, and journals. His
book, Crime and Community in the Cape Fear: A Prosecutor's Guide to a Healthier Hometown, was published
in 2020. Ben is an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, and a
certified instructor for law enforcement. He has served as a keynote speaker for numerous national
and international conferences. Ben provides commentary on criminal justice issues on nationally
broadcast television programs including the Today Show, PBS News Hour, and Dateline NBC. To
learn more visit Benjaminrdavid.com.
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