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North Carolina District Court 31

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The North Carolina District Court 31 resides in North Carolina. It serves Forsyth County. 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 21 to North Carolina District Court 31.[1]

Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

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] ”

Judges


Office Name Party Date assumed office
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 1 Valene McMasters Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 2 Frederick Adams Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 3 Theodore Kazakos Republican January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 4 George Cleland Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 5 Camille Banks-Prince Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 6 Artrese Ziglar Democratic January 1, 2025
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 7 Carrie Vickery Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 8 Whit Davis Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 9 Kristin Broyles Democratic January 1, 2024
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 10 Shonna Alexander Democratic January 1, 2025
North Carolina District Court District 31 Seat 11 David Sipprell Republican January 1, 2024


Elections

North Carolina is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in North Carolina, click here.

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

  1. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina House Bill 259," accessed February 22, 2024
  2. ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Judicial Branch," accessed May 19, 2023
  3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," archived October 3, 2014
  5. ↑ The News & Observer, "Veto override means voters will know judges’ party affiliations," March 23, 2017
  6. ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 100," accessed May 5, 2017
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | School of Government, "History of North Carolina Judicial Elections," August 2020
  8. ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina Constitution - Article IV," accessed September 20, 2021 (Section 19)

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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