NORTH CAROLINA FEDERAL COURTS

North Carolina has a thriving federal court system that begins at the trial level and actually goes all the way to the United States Supreme Court.  The court system is broken down into the District (trial) level, Circuit (appellate) level and the Supreme Court. Here are a few of the kinds of cases handled in federal courts:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Copyright
  • Disability Law Violations
  • Disputes Between Citizens of Different States (high dollar required)
  • Drug cases (usually higher-level)
  • Election
  • Employment Discrimination
  • Immigration
  • Medicaid Fraud
  • Policy Shootings
  • Sex Trafficking
  • Tax
  • Terrorism
  • Wage and Hour Violations

Judges

Federal judges are not elected, but are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. While you may not be able to vote for judges directly, you do so indirectly through the election of your federal representatives, including the President. Federal judges have lifetime appointments, so it is important to know your vote has lasting impact on the State. Moreover, while North Carolina has hundreds of State judges, it only has approximately 37 judges at the District/trial level (including bankruptcy and magistrate judges) and 18 judges at the Circuit/Appellate level.


Courts

At the District level, which is where trials are held, North Carolina is broken down into three districts: Eastern, Middle and Western. The Eastern District covers the eastern part of the State and has courthouses in Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh and Wilmington. The Middle District has courthouses in Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The Western District has courthouses in Charlotte, Asheville and Statesville.


If you any party from a case appeals from the decision at the district level, that appeal will likely go to the Fourth Circuit, which is the equivalent of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Fourth Circuit covers appeals from South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Litigants write appellate briefs seeking either to overturn or reaffirm the decision at the trial level. No new evidence is heard here. The judges sit in panels of three and, occasionally will hear an entire case with all of the judges weighing in on the decision. If the judges want the parties to come in to argue their legal points, the argument will likely take place in Richmond, Virginia. Appeals from the Fourth Circuit go to the United States Supreme Court.

Here are links to some of North Carolina’s federal courts:


EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

(covers the following counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Columbus, Cumberland, Currituck, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, HalifaxHarnett, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pamlico, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Washington, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson)


EASTERN DISTRICT BANKRUPTCY COURT


MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

(covers the following counties: Alamance, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin)


MIDDLE DISTRICT BANKRUPTCY COURT


WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

(covers the following counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey)


WESTERN DISTRICT BANKRUPTCY COURT


FOURTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS