Courts in North Carolina

More information on North Carolina's state courts:
Selection methods Elections Salaries Federal courts

In North Carolina, there are three federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and subject matter jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts
• Special courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through North Carolina's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of North Carolina's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in North Carolina and North Carolina judicial elections

The seven justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and the 15 judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals are chosen by partisan election. This became law in December 2016. Before that, election of appellate judges had been nonpartisan since 2004.

The judges of the North Carolina Superior Courts are all chosen in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms. From 1996 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.

The judges of the North Carolina District Courts are all chosen in partisan elections to serve four-year terms. From 2002 through 2016, elections for district 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 district court elections.

To read more about judicial elections in North Carolina, click here.

Federal courts

The federal district courts in North Carolina are the:

• The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Rulings from these federal courts can be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

Active judges

Eastern District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Terrence Boyle	Ronald Reagan (R)	May 3, 1984	Brown University, 1967	American University, Washington College of Law, 1970
Louise Flanagan	George W. Bush (R)	July 18, 2003	Wake Forest University, 1984	University of Virginia School of Law, 1988
James Dever	George W. Bush (R)	May 2, 2005	University of Notre Dame, 1984	Duke University School of Law, 1987
Richard Myers II	Donald Trump (R)	December 10, 2019	University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 1989	University of North Carolina School of Law, 1998

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 0
• Republican appointed: 4

Middle District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
William Osteen	George W. Bush (R)	September 19, 2007	University of North Carolina, 1983	University of North Carolina School of Law, 1987
Thomas Schroeder	George W. Bush (R)	January 8, 2008	Kansas University, 1981	Notre Dame Law, 1984
Catherine Eagles	Barack Obama (D)	December 22, 2010	Southwestern at Memphis, 1979	George Washington University Law Center, 1982
Loretta Copeland Biggs	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014	Spelman College, 1976	Howard University School of Law, 1979

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 2
• Republican appointed: 2

Western District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Robert Conrad	George H.W. Bush (R)	June 2, 2005	Clemson University, 1980	University of Virginia Law, 1983
Frank Whitney	George W. Bush (R)	July 5, 2006	Wake Forest University, 1982	University of North Carolina School of Law, 1987
Martin Reidinger	George W. Bush (R)	September 12, 2007	University of North Carolina, 1981	University of North Carolina School of Law, 1984
Max O. Cogburn Jr.	Barack Obama (D)	March 11, 2011	University of North Carolina, 1973	Samford University Cumberland Law, 1976
Kenneth Bell	Donald Trump (R)	June 12, 2019	Wake Forest University, 1980	Wake Forest University School of Law, 1983

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 4

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.

State supreme court

See also: Supreme Court of North Carolina

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the court of last resort in the state. Seven justices serve on this court. The primary function of the Supreme Court is to decide questions of law that have arisen in the lower courts or state administrative agencies, as well as to review Court of Appeals cases upon petition. The following judges currently sit on the court:

Judge	Appointed By
Michael R. Morgan	Elected
Sam Ervin	Elected
Paul Martin Newby	Elected
Anita Earls	Elected
Tamara Barringer	Elected
Phil Berger Jr.	Elected
Robin Hudson	Elected

State court of appeals

See also: North Carolina Court of Appeals

The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the state's intermediate appellate court. Fifteen judges serve on this court. Rotating panels of three judges hear cases, which are appeals from the trial courts. The following judges currently sit on the court:

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Donna Stroud	January 2, 2007 - Present	Elected
Hunter Murphy	2016 - Present	Elected
Lucy N. Inman	January 1, 2015 - Present	Elected
Richard Dietz	September 6, 2014 - Present	Pat McCrory
John S. Arrowood	2017 - Present	Roy Cooper
Jefferson Griffin	January 1, 2021 - Present	Elected
Jeffery Carpenter	January 1, 2021 - Present	Elected
Valerie Johnson Zachary	2015 - Present	Pat McCrory
Toby Hampson	January 1, 2019 - Present	Elected
Allegra Collins	January 1, 2019 - Present	Elected
John Marsh Tyson	January 1, 2015 - Present	Elected
Chris Dillon	January 1, 2013 - Present	Elected
Willie Fred Gore	January 1, 2021 - Present	Elected
April C. Wood	January 1, 2021 - Present	Elected
Darren Jackson	January 14, 2021 - Present	Roy Cooper

Trial courts

Superior courts

See also: North Carolina Superior Courts

The North Carolina Superior Courts hear felony criminal cases, civil cases involving more than $25,000, and appeals from the district courts. The superior courts are divided into five divisions. The map below shows each of those divisions by county.

District courts

See also: North Carolina District Courts

The North Carolina District Courts preside in cases involving civil, criminal, juvenile, and magistrate matters. These courts are divided into 41 judicial districts. The map below shows each of these judicial districts by county.

Special courts

North Carolina directs certain cases to a group of special courts with limited scopes. The following special courts exist in North Carolina:

• Business Court - This court is headed by a special superior court judge who oversees cases involving corporate and commercial law and that are assigned to the court by the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
• Family Court - These courts help the district courts resolve domestic and juvenile cases.
• Recovery Courts - These courts were created to help offenders with chemical dependency issues to follow their court-ordered treatment plans.

In other states

Click the map below to explore the court structure in other states.

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http://ballotpedia.org/Courts_in_STATE

See also

• Judicial selection in North Carolina
• North Carolina judicial elections

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• North Carolina Supreme Court

Footnotes

North Carolina courts

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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