(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) (Effective until January 1, 2015) (See Editor's note for staffing changes) 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
6A Halifax 5
6B Bertie, Hertford, 5
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
17A Rockingham 7
17B Stokes, Surry 8
18 Guilford 32
19A Cabarrus 9
19B Montgomery, Randolph 9
19C Rowan 8
19D Moore 5
20A Anson, Richmond, 11
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.
(a1) (Effective January 1, 2015) 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 caseload and criteria 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).)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014