North Carolinas Judicial Branch Basic Structure District Courts

North Carolina’s Judicial Branch

Basic Structure

District Courts n 4 categories: civil, criminal, juvenile and magistrate n Sit in the county seat of each county n Hear criminal misdemeanor cases n Hear civil cases of divorce, custody, child support and disputes of than $10, 000 n All trials are bench trials n Judges are elected to 4 -year terms

Superior Court n Felony criminal cases start here n Hear civil cases of more than $10, 000 n Hear appeals from District Court n A petit jury of 12 hears cases n In criminal & civil cases, juries can be waived n Judges are elected to 8 -year terms

Other Officials n Magistrate issues warrants; sets bail, guilty pleas, accepts payments; conducts small trials & sm. claims court. Appointed to 2 -year terms. n Clerk of Superior Court is in charge of foreclosures, jury duty, dockets, fines, etc. Elected to a four-year term. n Public Defender represents indigent defendants. Hired by the DA. n The District Attorney brings charges for the district on behalf of the state. Elected to a 4 year term.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina n Only intermediate appellate court n 15 judges sit in panels of 3 -No jury n Decides questions of law on cases appealed from the Superior courts, except death penalty cases n Cases in which there is a dissent go to the Supreme Court n Judges are elected to 8 -year terms

Supreme Court of NC n The state's highest court n No further appeal for state decisions n Chief justice & 6 associate justices sit together as a panel in Raleigh n Has no jury n Determines no fact; considers error in legal procedures or in interpretation of law n Justices are elected to 8 -year terms

Studying NC Court Cases: n Read about the case on the listed page. n For each case, explain what the case was about, the precedent & why it is significant. n Discuss each case.

Assignment n Assign Smore Flyers. n Set up Smore account n Go over NC County assignments. n Show Stanly County sample. n More on assignment components tomorrow. n Bring a textbook and a charged Chrome book to class tomorrow!