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North Carolina District Court 12

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The North Carolina 12th Judicial District resides in North Carolina. It serves Harnett, Johnston, and Lee counties. North Carolina House Bill 259 law restructured the superior court and district courts of the state in 2024. The law changed the name of the court from North Carolina District Court 11 to North Carolina District Court 12.[1]

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Jurisdiction

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[2]

The District Courts handle the vast majority of the trial level cases. They have exclusive jurisdiction over civil cases involving less than $10,000, almost all misdemeanors, probable cause hearings in felony cases, juvenile proceedings, mental health hospital commitments, and domestic relations cases. As of 2006, North Carolina had 41 district court districts, and 239 district court judges, elected to four-year terms.[3]

Selection method

See also: Judicial selection in the states
See also: Partisan election of judges

The North Carolina District Courts utilize partisan elections in the selection of judges. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving. 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.[4][5][6]

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[4]

  • licensed to practice law in the state;
  • a district resident; and
  • under the age of 72 (retirement at 72 is mandatory).

Judicial elections in North Carolina

See also: North Carolina judicial elections

North Carolina is one of 11 states that uses partisan elections to select judges and does not use retention elections for subsequent terms. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.

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.[7]

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.[8][7]

See also



External links

Footnotes