North Carolina Superior Courts

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The North Carolina Superior Courts are courts at the trial level in North Carolina. According to the court website, the court tries all felony criminal cases and misdemeanor and infraction appeals from district courts. A jury of 12 hears the criminal cases.[1]

The superior courts are split into five divisions and 48 districts. Generally, superior court judges rotate among the districts within their division every six months. However, this rotation has been suspended due to budgetary constraints on at least three occasions.[1][2]

Superior court divisions

Superior Court Divisions Counties Served Judicial districts
First Division Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson Districts 1, 2, 3, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8BC, 11, and 16
Second Division Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, and Wayne Districts 4, 5, 6A, 6BC, 9A, 9B, 15A, 15B, and 20
Third Division Alamance, Anson, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, Union, and Wake Districts 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 21, 28, 29, 30, and 37
Fourth Division Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Orange, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin Districts 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 31, 32, 33, and 34
Fifth Division Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey Districts 19, 26, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43A, and 43B

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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:


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: 2025 • 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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Superior Court," accessed August 12, 2019
  2. ↑ NC Business Litigation Report "Rotation Of North Carolina Superior Court Judges To Be Suspended Due To State Budget Crisis" July 13, 2009
  3. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Session Law 2023-134, House Bill 259," accessed February 23, 2024
  4. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "House Bill 257 / SL 2023-134," accessed September 4, 2024
  5. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Session Law 2018-121, House Bill 717," accessed August 30, 2019
  6. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "House Bill 717 / SL 2018-121," accessed August 30, 2019

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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