GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

S	4 

SENATE BILL 1025
Judiciary I Committee Substitute Adopted 6/23/99
Third Edition Engrossed 6/30/99
House Committee Substitute Favorable 7/8/99

Short Title:  Reorg. Sup. Ct. Divisions/Pilot Funds. 	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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April 15, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REORGANIZE THE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BY EXPANDING THE NUMBER OF JUDICIAL DIVISIONS FROM FOUR TO EIGHT, TO ESTABLISH PILOT PROGRAMS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE FUTURE OF JUSTICE AND THE COURTS IN NORTH CAROLINA CONCERNING ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO A RESERVE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE PILOT PROGRAMS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 7A-41(a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-41.  Superior court divisions and districts; judges.
(a)	The counties of the State are organized into eight judicial divisions and 62 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 than a whole county, as set out in subsection (b) of this section:
	Superior
Judicial	Court 	No. of Resident
Division	District	Counties		Judges

First	1	Camden, Chowan,	2
Currituck,
Dare, Gates,
Pasquotank, 
Perquimans
First	2	Beaufort, Hyde,	1
Martin,
Tyrrell, Washington
First	3A	Pitt	2
Second	3B	Carteret, Craven,	2
Pamlico
Second	4A	Duplin, Jones, 	1
Sampson
Second	4B	Onslow	1
Second	5	New Hanover, 	3
Pender
First	6A	Halifax	1
First	6B	Bertie, Hertford,	1
Northampton
First	7A	Nash	1
First	7B	(part of Wilson,	1
part of Edgecombe,
see subsection (b))
First	7C	(part of Wilson,	1
part of Edgecombe,
see subsection (b))
Second	8A	Lenoir and Greene	1
Second	8B	Wayne	1
Third	9	Franklin, Granville, 	2
  	Vance, Warren
Third	9A	Person, Caswell	1
Third	10A	(part of Wake,	2
see subsection (b))
Third	10B	(part of Wake,	2
see subsection (b))
Third	10C	(part of Wake,	1
see subsection (b))
Third	10D	(part of Wake,	1
see subsection (b))
Fourth	11A	Harnett, 	1
Lee
Fourth	11B	Johnston	1
Fourth	12A	(part of Cumberland, 	1
see subsection (b))
Fourth	12B	(part of Cumberland,	1
see subsection (b))
Fourth	12C	(part of Cumberland,	2
see subsection (b))
Fourth	13	Bladen, Brunswick,	2
Columbus
Third	14A	(part of Durham,	1
see subsection (b))
Third	14B	(part of Durham,	3
see subsection (b))
Third	15A	Alamance	2
Third	15B	Orange, Chatham	1
Fourth	16A	Scotland, Hoke	1
Fourth	16B	Robeson	2
Fifth	17A	Rockingham	2
Fifth	17B	Stokes, Surry	2
Fifth	18A	(part of Guilford,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	18B	(part of Guilford,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	18C	(part of Guilford,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	18D	(part of Guilford,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	18E	(part of Guilford,	1
see subsection (b))
Sixth	19A	Cabarrus	1
Fifth	19B	Montgomery, Moore,	2
Randolph
Sixth	19C	Rowan	1
Sixth	20A	Anson,  	1
Richmond
Sixth	20B	Stanly, Union	2
Fifth	21A	(part of Forsyth,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	21B	(part of Forsyth,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	21C	(part of Forsyth,	1
see subsection (b))
Fifth	21D	(part of Forsyth,	1
see subsection (b))
Sixth	22	Alexander, Davidson,	2
Davie, Iredell
Fifth	23	Alleghany, Ashe, 	1
Wilkes, Yadkin
Eighth	24	Avery, Madison,	1
Mitchell, 
Watauga, Yancey
Seventh	25A	Burke, Caldwell 	2
Seventh	25B	Catawba	2
Seventh	26A	(part of Mecklenburg,	2
see subsection (b))
Seventh	26B	(part of Mecklenburg,	2
see subsection (b))
Seventh	26C	(part of Mecklenburg,	2
see subsection (b))
Seventh	27A	Gaston	2
Seventh	27B	Cleveland, Lincoln	2
Eighth	28	Buncombe	2
Eighth	29	Henderson,	2
McDowell, Polk,
Rutherford,
Transylvania
Eighth	30A	Cherokee, Clay,	1
Graham, Macon,
Swain
Eighth	30B	Haywood, Jackson	1."Section 2.(a)	The Chief Justice is requested to choose up to two of the eight divisions established pursuant to G.S. 7A-41, as amended in Section 1 of this act, or portions of those divisions, without dividing district court districts, in which to establish pilot programs for consideration of the recommendations of the Commission for the Future of Justice and the Courts in North Carolina concerning organization and management of the trial court.
Section 2.(b)	In conducting the pilot program or programs, the Chief Justice is requested to:
(1)	After consultation with the senior resident superior court judges and chief district court judges of the districts comprising each pilot region, designate one judge to serve as the coordinating judge for that pilot program;
(2)	Assign staff to assist each coordinating judge;
(3)	Establish and, in consultation with the affected judges, district attorneys, and clerks of court, appoint the members of an advisory judicial council for each pilot program;
(4)	Authorize the coordinating judge, in consultation with the clerk of superior court, the district attorney, and the senior resident superior court judges and with the chief district court judges, to:
a.	Establish a schedule for all sessions of trial court;
b.	Assign judges to sessions of court;
c.	Develop and implement a procedure for the calendaring of cases, both criminal and civil, with assistance from the trial court administrator;
d.	Assign particular categories of cases to individual judges;
e.	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determine the circumstances under which judges may hear motions and other pretrial proceedings outside the county in which the case arose but within the same judicial district;
f.	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determine the circumstances under which a case may be tried outside the county in which it arose but within the same judicial district, when reasonably convenient for the parties and witnesses and likely to expedite the final resolution of the case;
g.	Establish local rules for the pilot program, subject to the approval of the Chief Justice; and
h.	Transfer funds within budget categories to the extent allowed by the General Assembly and the Director of the Budget.
Section 2.(c)	The Chief Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall report to the General Assembly by March 1, 2002, on the operation of this pilot program and its implications for improving the efficiency and consistency of the State court system and providing better flexibility for addressing future changes in caseload.
Section 3.  The one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) provided by S.L. 1997-237 for implementation of House Bill 1225 shall instead be used to implement the provisions of this act (the companion bill), and to provide equipment and consulting and other services necessary to operate the pilot programs established in this act.  The Administrative Office of the Courts shall consult with the judge or judges designated as coordinating judges for each pilot before establishing any positions or expending any funds for equipment and support services.  Each coordinating judge shall be the hiring authority for purposes of administering the positions created from funds appropriated to the reserve fund.  The Administrative Office of the Courts shall include an accounting of the use of these funds in the report required by subsection (c) of Section 2 of this act.
Section 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2000.