7A-40. Composition; judicial powers of clerk. The Superior Court Division of the General Court of Justice consists of the several superior courts of the State. The clerk of superior court in the exercise of the judicial power conferred upon him as ex officio judge of probate, and in the exercise of other judicial powers conferred […]
7A-41. (Effective until January 1, 2023) Superior court divisions and districts; judges. (a) The counties of the State are organized into judicial divisions and superior court districts, and each superior court district has the counties, and the number of regular resident superior court judges set forth in the following table, and for districts of less […]
7A-41.1. District and set of districts defined; senior resident superior court judges and their authority. (a) In this section and in any other law which refers to this section: (1) "District" means any superior court district established by G.S. 7A-41 which consists exclusively of one or more entire counties; (2) "Set of districts" means any […]
7A-41.2. Nomination and election of regular superior court judges. Candidates for the office of regular superior court judge shall be both nominated and elected by the qualified voters of the superior court district for which the election is sought. (1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 9, s. 1.)
7A-42. Sessions of superior court in cities other than county seats. (a) Sessions of the superior court shall be held in each city in the State which is not a county seat and which has a population of 35,000 or more, according to the 1960 federal census. (a1) In addition to the sessions of superior […]
7A-44. Salary and expenses of superior court judge. (a) A judge of the superior court, regular or special, shall receive the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act, and in addition shall be paid the same travel allowance as State employees generally by G.S. 138-6(a), provided that no travel allowance be paid […]
7A-44.1. Secretarial and clerical help. (a) Each senior resident superior court judge may appoint a judicial secretary to serve at his pleasure and under his direction the secretarial and clerical needs of the superior court judges of the district or set of districts as defined by G.S. 7A-41.1(a) for which he is the senior resident […]
7A-45.1. Special judges. (a) Effective November 1, 1993, the Governor may appoint two special superior court judges to serve terms expiring September 30, 2000. Effective October 1, 2000, one of those positions is abolished. Successors to the special superior court judge appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be appointed to a five-year term. A special […]
7A-45.2. Emergency special judges of the superior court; qualifications, appointment, removal, and authority. (a) Any justice or judge of the appellate division of the General Court of Justice who: (1) Retires under the provisions of the Consolidated Judicial Retirement Act, Article 4 of Chapter 135 of the General Statutes, or who is eligible to receive […]
7A-45.3. Superior court judges designated for complex business cases. The Chief Justice may exercise the authority under rules of practice prescribed pursuant to G.S. 7A-34 to designate one or more of the special superior court judges authorized by G.S. 7A-45.1 to hear and decide complex business cases as prescribed by the rules of practice. Any […]
7A-45.4. Designation of complex business cases. (a) Any party may designate as a mandatory complex business case an action that involves a material issue related to any of the following: (1) Disputes involving the law governing corporations, except charitable and religious organizations qualified under G.S. 55A-1-40(4) on the grounds of religious purpose, partnerships, and limited […]
7A-46. Special sessions. Whenever it appears to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that there is need for a special session of superior court in any county, he may order a special session in that county, and order any regular, special, or emergency judge to hold such session. The Chief Justice shall notify the […]
7A-47. Powers of regular judges holding courts by assignment or exchange. A regular superior court judge, duly assigned to hold the courts of a county, or holding such courts by exchange, shall have the same powers in the district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A-41.1(a) in which that county is located, in […]
7A-47.1. Jurisdiction in vacation or in session. In any case in which the superior court in vacation has jurisdiction, and all the parties unite in the proceedings, they may apply for relief to the superior court in vacation, or during a session of court, at their election. Any regular resident superior court judge of the […]
7A-47.3. Rotation and assignment; sessions. (a) To effect the intent of Article IV, Section 11 of the North Carolina Constitution, each regular resident superior court judge may, upon each rotation, be assigned to hold the courts either of one of the districts or of one of the sets of districts in that judge’s judicial division. […]
7A-48. Jurisdiction of emergency judges. Emergency superior court judges have the same power and authority in all matters whatsoever, in the courts which they are assigned to hold, that regular judges holding the same courts would have. An emergency judge duly assigned to hold the courts of a county or district or set of districts […]
7A-49. Orders returnable to another judge; notice. When any special or emergency judge makes any matter returnable before him, and thereafter he is called upon by the Chief Justice to hold court elsewhere, he shall order the matter heard before some other judge, setting forth in the order the time and place where it is […]
7A-49.1. Disposition of motions when judge disqualified. Whenever a judge before whom a motion is made, either in open court or in chambers, disqualifies himself from determining it, he may in his discretion refer the motion for disposition to a regular resident superior court judge of, or any judge regularly holding the courts of, the […]
7A-49.2. Civil business at criminal sessions; criminal business at civil sessions. (a) At criminal sessions of court, motions in civil actions may be heard upon due notice, and trials in civil actions may be heard by consent of parties. Motions for confirmation or rejection of referees’ reports may also be heard upon 10 days’ notice […]
7A-49.4. Superior court criminal case docketing. (a) Criminal Docketing. – Criminal cases in superior court shall be calendared by the district attorney at administrative settings according to a criminal case docketing plan developed by the district attorney for each superior court district in consultation with the superior court judges residing in that district and after […]
