Third Division of the Superior Court, North Carolina

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Court

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The Third Division of the North Carolina Superior Court encompasses 10 districts and 15 counties. North Carolina House Bill 259 law restructured the superior court and district courts of the state in 2024.[1]

Judicial districts

Counties in the Third Division


Superior court map

The map below shows each of the superior court divisions by county.

Court restructuring

2023

Changes

In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 259, revising the state superior court, district court, and prosecutorial districts. The table below highlights the changes the bill made.[2]

Changes to North Carolina superior and district courts
Court Changes
Superior court Realigned the superior court districts
Increased the number of superior court judges to 101
District court Realigned the district courts districts
Increased the number of district court judges to 289

Timeline

Below is a brief timeline of the bill:

  • October 3, 2023: House Bill (HB) 259 became session law 2023-134 without the governor's signature.
  • September 22, 2023: HB 259 ratified and presented to Gov. Roy Cooper (D).
  • May 18, 2023: The state Senate approved HB 259.
  • April 6, 2023: The state House passed HB 259.[3]

2018

Changes

In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 717, revising the state superior court, district court, and prosecutorial districts. The table below highlights the changes the bill made.[4]

Changes to North Carolina superior and district courts
Court Changes
Superior court Decreased superior court judicial divisions from eight to five
Created superior court districts
Increased the number of superior court judges from 92 to 99
District court Redistributed the district courts across counties
Increased the number of district court judges by one

Timeline

Below is a brief timeline of the bill:


Elections

See also: North Carolina judicial elections

North Carolina is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in North Carolina, click here.

Selection method

See also: Partisan election of judges

The 98 judges of the North Carolina Superior Courts are chosen in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms. From 1998 through 2016, elections for superior court judges were nonpartisan; however, on March 23, 2017, the North Carolina legislature changed the method of election to partisan elections by overriding Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of HB 100. This change was effective with the 2018 superior court elections.[6][7][8][9][10]

The chief judge of each superior court is chosen by seniority.[11]

Qualifications
To serve on a superior court, a judge must be:

  • "learned in the law" and
  • under the age of 72 (retirement at 72 is mandatory).[11]

Election rules

Primary election

The judges of the North Carolina Superior Courts are chosen through partisan elections. Judges are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[12]

The judges of the North Carolina District Courts are chosen through partisan elections. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[13][12]


See also

North Carolina Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in North Carolina
North Carolina Court of Appeals
North Carolina Supreme Court
Elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in North Carolina
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina House Bill 259," accessed February 22, 2024
  2. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Session Law 2023-134, House Bill 259," accessed February 23, 2024
  3. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "House Bill 257 / SL 2023-134," accessed September 4, 2024
  4. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Session Law 2018-121, House Bill 717," accessed August 30, 2019
  5. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "House Bill 717 / SL 2018-121," accessed August 30, 2019
  6. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," archived October 3, 2014
  7. ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Session Law 2015-292: House Bill 8," October 29, 2015
  8. ↑ The News & Observer, "Veto override means voters will know judges’ party affiliations," March 23, 2017
  9. ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 100," accessed May 5, 2017
  10. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Session Law 2018-121, House Bill 717," accessed August 30, 2019
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named general
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | School of Government, "History of North Carolina Judicial Elections," August 2020
  13. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina Constitution - Article IV," accessed September 20, 2021 (Section 19)

North Carolina courts

Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina

State courts:

Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts

State resources:

Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina

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