Chapter 7A

This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Judicial Department Act of 1965." (1965, c. 310, s. 1.)

(a) The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and six associate justices, elected by the qualified voters of the State for terms of eight years. Such election shall be under Article 25 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes or Article 1A of this Chapter. Before entering …

The Supreme Court is authorized, by rule, to prescribe standards of judicial conduct for the guidance of all justices and judges of the General Court of Justice. (1973, c. 89.)

(a) A clerk of the superior court for each county shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, to hold office for a term of four years, in the manner prescribed by Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The clerk, before entering on the duties of his office, shall take the oat…

(a) The clerk of superior court is a full-time employee of the State and shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal monthly installments, based on the number of State-funded assistant and deputy clerks of court as determined by the Administrative Office of Court's workload …

(a) The numbers and salaries of assistant clerks, deputy clerks, and other employees in the office of each clerk of superior court shall be determined by the Administrative Officer of the Courts after consultation with the clerk concerned. However, no office of clerk of superior …

(a) All assistant clerks, deputy clerks and other employees of the clerks of the superior court of this State, secretaries to superior court judges and district attorneys, and court reporters of the superior courts, who have heretofore been, or shall hereafter be, changed in stat…

The clerk of superior court is authorized to: (1) Issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of any witness residing or being in the State, or to compel the production of any document or paper, material to any inquiry in his court. (2) Administer oaths, and to take acknowledgment a…

(a) The clerk shall not exercise any judicial powers in relation to any estate, proceeding, or civil action: (1) If he has, or claims to have, an interest by distribution, by will, or as creditor or otherwise; (2) If he is so related to any person having or claiming such an inter…

(a) A clerk of superior court may be suspended or removed from office for misconduct or mental or physical incapacity. (b) A proceeding to suspend or remove a clerk of superior court shall be commenced in the superior court division and county in which the clerk resides by filing…

(a) It is the duty of the clerk of superior court, upon going out of office for any reason, to deliver to his successor, or such person as the senior regular resident superior court judge may designate, all records, books, papers, moneys, and property belonging to his office, and…

The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish procedures for the receipt, deposit, protection, investment, and disbursement of all funds coming into the hands of the clerk of superior court. The fees to be remitted to counties and municipalities shall be paid to them mo…

(a) Each clerk shall maintain such records, files, dockets and indexes as are prescribed by rules of the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Except as prohibited by law, these records shall be open to the inspection of the public during regular office hours, and …

(a) The clerk of superior court must furnish to each judge presiding over a criminal court a report listing the name, reason for confinement, period of confinement, and, when appropriate, charge or charges, amount of bail and conditions of release, and next scheduled court appear…

(a) Each clerk of superior court shall ensure that all records of dispositions in criminal cases, including those records filed electronically, contain all the essential information about the case, including the name of the presiding judge and the attorneys representing the State…

(a) Whenever the district court sentences a person to imprisonment and commitment to the custody of the Division of Prisons of the Department of Adult Correction pursuant to G.S. 15A-1352, the clerk of superior court shall furnish the sheriff with the signed order of commitment w…

The clerk of superior court shall maintain all records relating to an offense involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) for a minimum of 10 years from the date of conviction. Prior to destroying the record, the clerk shall record the name of the defendant, the ju…

The clerk of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the Supreme Court to serve at its pleasure. The annual salary of the clerk shall be fixed by the Administrative Officer of the Courts, subject to the approval of the Supreme Court. The clerk may appoint assistants in the number…

(a) When a minor under 18 years of age is named beneficiary in a policy or policies of insurance, and the insured dies prior to the majority of such minor, and the proceeds of each individual policy do not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) such proceeds may be paid to and, …

(a) The clerk of the superior court may in his or her discretion invest moneys secured by virtue or color of the clerk's office or as receiver in any of the following securities: (1) Obligations of the United States or obligations fully guaranteed both as to principal and interes…

The clerk of superior court shall deposit any funds that he receives by virtue of his office, except funds invested pursuant to G.S. 7A-112, in an interest-bearing checking account or accounts in a bank, savings and loan, or trust company licensed to do business in North Carolina…

Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 147-64.6(10), proposed changes in the kinds of bookkeeping and accounting systems equipment employed by the clerk of superior court shall be subject to review and approval by the Office of State Budget and Management. The Administrative Offi…

Where practical, upon request of a domestic violence victim, the clerk of Superior Court of any county shall coordinate with the county Sheriff to make available to the victim a secure area, segregated from the general population of the courtroom, to await hearing of their court …

The Supreme Court may appoint a marshal to serve at its pleasure, and to perform such duties as it may assign. The marshal shall have the criminal and civil powers of a sheriff, and any additional powers necessary to execute the orders of the appellate division in any county of t…

(a) The Supreme Court shall appoint a librarian of the Supreme Court library, to serve at the pleasure of the court. The annual salary of the librarian shall be fixed by the Administrative Officer of the Courts, subject to the approval of the Supreme Court. The librarian may appo…

(a) The district court division of the General Court of Justice is hereby created. It consists of various district courts organized in territorial districts. The numbers and boundaries of the districts are as provided by G.S. 7A-133. The district court shall sit in the county sea…

District courts are established, within districts, in accordance with the following schedule: (1) On the first Monday in December, 1966, the first, the twelfth, the fourteenth, the sixteenth, the twenty-fifth, and the thirtieth districts; (2) On the first Monday in December, 1968…

Each district court district shall have one or more judges and one district attorney. Each county within each district shall have at least one magistrate. For each district the General Assembly shall prescribe the numbers of district judges, and the numbers of full-time assistant…

(a) Each district court district shall have the numbers of judges as set forth in the following table: District Judges County 1 5 Camden Chowan Currituck Dare Gates Pasquotank Perquimans 2 4 Beaufort Hyde Martin Tyrrell Washington 3 6 Pitt 4 6 Carteret Craven Pamlico 5 10 Duplin …

On the date that the district court is established in any county, cases pending in the inferior court or courts of that county shall be transferred to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice, and all records of these courts shall be transferred to the office of c…

The Supreme Court is authorized to have such of the Reports of the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina as are not on hand for sale, republished and numbered consecutively, retaining the present numbers and names of the reporters and by means of star pages in the margin r…

There shall be at least one district judge for each district. Each district judge shall be elected by the qualified voters of the district court district in which he or she is to serve at the time of the election for members of the General Assembly. The number of judges for each …

No district judge may continue in office beyond the last day of the calendar year in which the district judge attains 72 years of age, but district judges so retired may be recalled for periods of temporary service as provided in Subchapter III of this Chapter. (2023-134, s. 16.1…

When more than one judge is authorized in a district, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall designate one of the judges as chief district judge to serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the Chief Justice. In a single judge district, the judge is the chief district judge…

(a) A vacancy in the office of district judge occurring for causes other than expiration of term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor. The appointee shall serve until an election is conducted at the same time as the next election for members of the General Assembly that…

(a) Each judge shall receive the annual salary provided in the Current Operations Appropriations Act, and reimbursement on the same basis as State employees generally, for his or her necessary subsistence expenses and for travel expenses when on official business outside the judg…

The chief district judge, subject to the general supervision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has administrative supervision and authority over the operation of the district courts and magistrates in the chief district judge's district. These powers and duties include, …

(a) Prior to January 1 of each year in which elections for district court judges are to be held, the Administrative Officer of the Courts may, with the approval of the chief district judge, designate one or more judgeships in districts having three or more judgeships, as speciali…

(a) The chief district judges of the various district court districts shall meet at least once a year upon call of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to discuss mutual problems affecting the courts and the improvement of court operations, to prepare and adopt uniform schedule…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a district court judge of a district court district which is in a set of districts as defined by G.S. 7A-200 has jurisdiction in the entire county or counties in which the district is located to the same extent as if the district en…

The Court of Appeals is created effective January 1, 1967. It shall consist initially of six judges, elected by the qualified voters of the State for terms of eight years. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall designate one of the judges as Chief Judge, to serve in such ca…

(a) A magistrate is an officer of the district court. Before entering upon the duties of his office, a magistrate shall take the oath of office prescribed for a magistrate of the General Court of Justice. A magistrate possesses all the powers of his office at all times during his…

(a) The General Assembly shall establish a minimum quota of magistrates appointed in each county. In no county shall the minimum quota be less than one. (a1) The initial term of appointment for a magistrate is two years and subsequent terms shall be for a period of four years. Th…

(a) The Administrative Officer of the Courts, after consultation with the chief district judge and pursuant to the following provisions, shall set an annual salary for each magistrate: (1) A full-time magistrate shall be paid the annual salary indicated in the table set out in th…

(a) In order to be eligible for nomination or for renomination as a magistrate an individual shall be a resident of North Carolina, and the individual shall either be a resident of the county for which the magistrate is seeking nomination or renomination or a resident of a county…

The Administrative Office of the Courts shall prescribe rules of conduct for all magistrates not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States or inconsistent with the Constitution of the State of North Carolina. The rules of conduct shall apply to all magistrates and s…

(a) A magistrate may be suspended from performing the duties of the magistrate's office by the chief district judge of the district court district in which the magistrate's county of appointment is located, or upon order of the Chief Justice. A magistrate may be removed from offi…

A magistrate shall keep such dockets, accounts, and other records, under the general supervision of the clerk of superior court, as may be prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. (1965, c. 310, s. 1.)

The office of justice of the peace is abolished in each county upon the establishment of a district court therein. (1965, c. 310, s. 1.)

(a) Within six months of taking the oath of office as a magistrate for the first time, a magistrate is required to attend and satisfactorily complete a course of basic training of at least 40 hours in the civil and criminal duties of a magistrate. The Administrative Office of the…