§7A-60. District attorneys and prosecutorial districts  


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  • (a)        The State shall be divided into prosecutorial districts, as shown in subsection (a1) of this section. There shall be a district attorney for each prosecutorial district, as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section who shall be a resident of the prosecutorial district for which elected. A vacancy in the office of district attorney shall be filled as provided in Article IV, Sec. 19 of the Constitution.

    (a1)      The counties of the State are organized into prosecutorial districts, and each district has the counties and the number of full-time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table:

    No. of Full-Time

    Prosecutorial                                                                                                    Asst. District

    District                                         Counties                                                   Attorneys

    1                               Camden, Chowan, Currituck,                                             11

    Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,

    Perquimans

    2                               Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,                                                       8

    Tyrrell, Washington

    3A                            Pitt                                                                                      11

    3B                            Carteret, Craven, Pamlico                                                   12

    4                               Duplin, Jones, Onslow,                                                       18

    Sampson

    5                               New Hanover, Pender                                                        18

    6                               Bertie, Halifax, Hertford,                                                   10

    Northampton

    7                               Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson                                                  18

    8                               Greene, Lenoir, Wayne                                                       14

    9                               Franklin, Granville,                                                             10

                                     Vance, Warren                                                                       

    9A                            Person, Caswell                                                                     6

    10                             Wake                                                                                   41

    11A                          Harnett, Lee                                                                          9

    11B                          Johnston                                                                              10

    12                             Cumberland                                                                        23

    13                             Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus                                           13

    14                             Durham                                                                               18

    15A                          Alamance                                                                            11

    15B                          Orange, Chatham                                                                10

    16A                          Scotland, Hoke                                                                     7

    16B                          Robeson                                                                              12

    16C                          Anson, Richmond                                                                 6

    17A                          Rockingham                                                                          7

    17B                          Stokes, Surry                                                                         8

    18                             Guilford                                                                              32

    19A                          Cabarrus                                                                                9

    19B                          Montgomery, Randolph                                                        9

    19C                          Rowan                                                                                   8

    19D                          Moore                                                                                    5

    20A                                                                                                                        5

                                     Stanly

    20B                          Union                                                                                  10

    21                             Forsyth                                                                                25

    22A                          Alexander, Iredell                                                               11

    22B                          Davidson, Davie                                                                 11

    23                             Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,                                                     8

                                     Yadkin

    24                             Avery, Madison, Mitchell,                                                    7

                                     Watauga, Yancey

    25                             Burke, Caldwell, Catawba                                                  18

    26                             Mecklenburg                                                                       58

    27A                          Gaston                                                                                 14

    27B                          Cleveland,                                                                           11

                                     Lincoln

    28                             Buncombe                                                                           14

    29A                          McDowell, Rutherford                                                         7

    29B                          Henderson, Polk, Transylvania                                             8

    30                             Cherokee, Clay, Graham,                                                    10

                                     Haywood, Jackson, Macon,

                                     Swain.

    (a2)      Upon the convening of each regular session of the General Assembly and its reconvening in the even-numbered year, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall report its recommendations regarding the allocation of assistant district attorneys for the upcoming fiscal biennium and fiscal year to the General Assembly, including any request for additional assistant district attorneys. The report shall include the number of assistant district attorneys that the Administrative Office of the Courts recommends to be allocated to each prosecutorial district and the workload formula established through the National Center for State Courts on which each recommended allocation is based. Any reports required under this subsection shall be made to the Joint Legislative Commission of Governmental Operations, the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public, and the Fiscal Research Division.

    (b)        Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each district attorney for a prosecutorial district as defined in subsection (a1) of this section, other than District 19B, who is in office on December 31, 1988, shall continue in office for that prosecutorial district, for a term expiring December 31, 1990. In the general election of 1990, and every four years thereafter, a district attorney shall be elected for a four-year term for each prosecutorial district other than Districts 16A and 19B, and shall take office on the January 1 following such election. The district attorney for Prosecutorial District 19B, who is elected in the general election of 1988 for a four-year term beginning January 1, 1989, shall serve that term for Prosecutorial District 19B. In the general election of 1992, and every four years thereafter, a district attorney shall be elected for a four-year term for Prosecutorial Districts 16A and 19B and shall take office on the January 1 following such election.

    (c)        The office and term of the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 12 formerly consisting of Cumberland and Hoke Counties are allocated to Prosecutorial District 12 as defined by subsection (a1) of this section. The office and the term of the district attorney for former Prosecutorial District 16 consisting of Robeson and Scotland Counties are allocated to Prosecutorial District 16B as defined by subsection (a1) of this section. The initial district attorney for Prosecutorial District 16A as defined in subsection (a1) of this section shall be elected in the general election of November 1988, from nominations made in accordance with G.S. 163-114 as if a vacancy had occurred in nomination, and shall serve an initial term expiring December 31, 1992. In all other respects, subsection (b) of this section shall apply to the district attorneys for Prosecutorial Districts 12, 16A, and 16B to the same extent as all other district attorneys.

(1967, c. 1049, s. 1; 1975, c. 956, s. 4; 1977, c. 1130, s. 3; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1238, s. 2; 1981, c. 964, ss. 2, 3; 1987, c. 509, ss. 4, 5; c. 738, s. 127(a); 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1056, s. 1; c. 1086, s. 111; 1989, c. 770, ss. 1, 56; c. 795, s. 24(a), (e); 1991, c. 742, s. 13; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 900, s. 120(a), (b); 1993, c. 321, ss. 200.4(l), 200.7(a), (b); 1995, c. 507, s. 21.7; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 589, s. 3(a); 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 22(a); 1997-443, s. 18.11(a); 1998-212, s. 16.20(a); 1999-237, s. 17.8(a); 2004-124, s. 14.6(h); 2005-276, s. 14.2(l); 2006-66, ss. 14.3(a), 14.19(a); 2007-323, ss. 14.14(a), (b), 14.25(j); 2008-107, s. 14.6; 2009-451, s. 15.17E(a); 2012-194, s. 1(b); 2013-360, s. 18B.22(k); 2014-100, s. 18B.7(a).)