Main Players in the North Carolina Court System
There are many players in our court system. There are Judges, Clerks of Court, Magistrates, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, and numerous others.
Judge
All judges are elected in partisan elections. Trial court judges are elected by district; appellate judges are elected statewide. All judges preside in court and make judicial decisions in the cases before them. Some judges (Senior Resident Superior Court Judges and Chief District Court Judges) also have administrative responsibilities and appoint people to certain offices.
Clerk
There is one Clerk of Court for each county. They are all elected in county partisan elections. Their offices keep all the official records of all the trial courts. They receive and pay out money. Clerks also have judicial authority as explained above. Each clerk has a staff of assistant and deputy clerks to help them. There are approximately 2,600 assistant and deputy clerks, state-wide.
Magistrate
Magistrates are judicial officials who are on duty in each county 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Magistrates are appointed by the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge. There are several Magistrates in each county. The number of Magistrates per county is based on workload.
District Attorney
District attorneys are elected in district partisan elections. The District Attorney prosecutes criminal, traffic and delinquency cases in all trial courts. District attorneys are assisted by assistant district attorneys (ADAs). There are approximately 600 ADAs state-wide.
Public Defender
Public defenders work in some areas of the state. They are appointed by the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge. Public defenders represent indigent defendants in criminal cases and juveniles in delinquency cases.
Other Players in the court system are:
- Bailiff
- Court Administrator
- Court Coordinator
- Court Reporter
- District Attorney Investigators
- District Attorney Legal Assistant
- Guardian ad Litem Administrator
- Jailer
- Judicial Assistant
- Juvenile Court Counselor
- Law Enforcement Officer
- Mediators/arbitrators
- Probation Officer
Learn more about the court system.
