GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1987 SESSION
CHAPTER 1056
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. Effective upon ratification for election purposes, and effective January 1, 1989, for all other purposes, G.S. 7A-60 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-60. District attorneys and
prosecutorial districts.-(a) Except as provided
in subsection (b), effective January 1, 1971, the The State shall be
divided into prosecutorial districts, as shown in subsection (a1) of this
section. In the general election of November 1970, a district attorney
shall be elected for a four-year term There shall be a district attorney
for each prosecutorial district, as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this
section who each prosecutorial district. The district attorney shall
be a resident of the prosecutorial district for which elected, and
shall take office on January 1 following the election. 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
Judicial Asst. District
District Counties Attorneys
1 Camden, Chowan, Currituck, 5
Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
Perquimans
2 Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, 4
Tyrrell, Washington
3A Pitt 4
3B Carteret, Craven, Pamlico 4
4 Duplin, Jones, Onslow, 8
Sampson
5 New Hanover, Pender 7
6 Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, 4
Northampton
7 Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson 7
8 Greene, Lenoir, Wayne 8
9 Franklin, Granville, 6
Person, Vance, Warren
10 Wake 15
11 Harnett, Johnston, Lee 6
12
Cumberland, Hoke
12
12 Cumberland 11
13 Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus 5
14 Durham 8
15A Alamance 3
15B Orange, Chatham 3
16
Robeson, Scotland
7
16A Scotland, Hoke none
16B Robeson 7
17A Caswell, 3
Rockingham
17B Stokes, Surry 3
18 Guilford 14
19A Cabarrus, Rowan 5
19B Montgomery, Randolph 3
20 Anson, Moore, Richmond, 8
Stanly, Union
21 Forsyth 9
22 Alexander, Davidson, Davie, 7
Iredell
23 Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, 3
Yadkin
24 Avery, Madison, Mitchell, 3
Watauga, Yancey
25 Burke, Caldwell, Catawba 8
26 Mecklenburg 19
27A Gaston 6
27B Cleveland, 4
Lincoln
28 Buncombe 5
29 Henderson, McDowell, Polk, 6
Rutherford, Transylvania
30 Cherokee, Clay, Graham, 5
Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
Swain.
(b) Effective July 1,
1975, the twenty-seventh prosecutorial district is divided into two
prosecutorial districts, to be known as Prosecutorial Districts 27-A and 27-B.
District 27-A shall consist of Gaston County, and District 27-B shall consist
of Cleveland and Lincoln Counties. The current district attorney of the
twenty-seventh prosecutorial district shall become the district attorney of Prosecutorial
District 27-B, and the senior regular resident superior court judge shall
appoint a district attorney for Prosecutorial District 27-A. The appointee
shall serve until January 1, 1977, and his successor shall be chosen in the
general election of November, 1976. The successor shall serve for the remainder
of the term expiring December 31, 1978.
Effective July 15, 1977, the fifteenth prosecutorial
district is divided into two prosecutorial districts, to be known as
Prosecutorial Districts 15A and 15B. District 15A shall consist of Alamance
County, and District 15B shall consist of Orange and Chatham Counties. The
current district attorney of the fifteenth prosecutorial district shall become
the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 15A, and the Governor shall
appoint a district attorney for Prosecutorial District 15B. The appointee shall
serve until January 1, 1979, and his successor shall be chosen in the general
election of November 1978, to serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 1979.
Effective January 1, 1979, the nineteenth prosecutorial
district is divided into two prosecutorial districts, to be known as
Prosecutorial Districts 19A and 19B. District 19A shall consist of Cabarrus and
Rowan Counties, and District 19B shall consist of Montgomery and Randolph
Counties. The current district attorney of the nineteenth prosecutorial
district shall become the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 19A, and
the Governor shall appoint a district attorney for Prosecutorial District 19B. The
appointee shall serve until January 1, 1981, and his successor shall be chosen
in the general election of November 1980, to serve a four-year term beginning
January 1, 1981.
Effective October 1, 1981, the third prosecutorial
district is divided into two prosecutorial districts, to be known as
Prosecutorial Districts 3A and 3B. District 3A shall consist of Pitt County,
and District 3B shall consist of Craven, Carteret and Pamlico Counties. The
current district attorney of the third prosecutorial district shall become the
district attorney for Prosecutorial District 3A. The Governor shall appoint a
district attorney for Prosecutorial District 3B. The appointee shall serve
until January 1, 1983, and his successor shall be chosen in the general
election of November 1982, to serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 1983.
Effective September 1, 1981, the seventeenth prosecutorial
district is divided into two prosecutorial districts, to be known as
Prosecutorial Districts 17A and 17B. District 17A shall consist of Caswell and
Rockingham Counties, and District 17B shall consist of Stokes and Surry
Counties. The current district attorney of the seventeenth prosecutorial
district shall become the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 17B. A
new district attorney position is created by this act for Prosecutorial
District 17A and shall be filled by appointment by the Governor. The appointee
shall serve until January 1, 1983, and his successor shall be chosen in the
general election of November, 1982, to serve a four-year term beginning January
1, 1983.
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."
Sec. 2. Of the funds available to the Judicial Department for fiscal year 1988-89, the sum of forty-six thousand eight hundred eleven dollars ($46,811) shall be used for the salary and benefits of the chief district court judge for district court district 16A, for the salary and benefits of the district attorney and the administrative assistant for the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 16A, and for other start-up costs of that district attorney's office.
Sec. 3. To the extent that the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 16A may, between January 1, 1989, and June 30, 1989, need the assistance of other attorneys to keep the dockets of the superior and district courts of that district reasonably current, that assistance shall be supplied by the Administrative Officer of the Courts pursuant to G.S. 7A-64.
Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 1989, but subject to Sections 5 and 6 of this act, G.S. 7A-133 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-133. Numbers of judges by districts; numbers of magistrates and additional seats of court, by counties.-Each district court district shall have the numbers of judges and each county within the district shall have the numbers of magistrates and additional seats of court, as set forth in the following table:
Additional
Magistrates Seats of
District Judges County Min.-Max. Court
1 3 Camden 1 2
Chowan 2 3
Currituck 1 2
Dare 3 5
Gates 2 3
Pasquotank 3 4
Perquimans 2 3
2 3 Martin 5 8
Beaufort 4 5
Tyrrell 1 2
Hyde 2 4
Washington 3 4
3 7 Craven 7 10
Pitt 10 12 Farmville,
Ayden
Pamlico 2 3
Carteret 5 8
4 5 Sampson 6 8
Duplin 9 11
Jones 2 3
Onslow 8 11
5 5 New Hanover 6 10
Pender 4 6
6 3 Northampton 5 6
Halifax 9 14 Roanoke
Rapids,
Scotland Neck
Bertie 4 5
Hertford 5 6
7 5 Nash 7 10 Rocky Mount
Edgecombe 4 6 Rocky Mount
Wilson 4 6
8 5 Wayne 5 8 Mount Olive
Greene 2 4
Lenoir 4 7 La Grange
9 4 Person 3 4
Granville 3 7
Vance 3 5
Warren 3 4
Franklin 3 6
10 10 Wake 12 17 Apex,
Wendell,
Fuquay-Varina,
Wake Forest
11 5 Harnett 7 11 Dunn
Johnston 10 12 Benson and
Selma
Lee 4 6
12
6 Cumberland
10 17
Hoke
4 5
12 5 Cumberland 10 17
13 4 Bladen 4 6
Brunswick 4 7
Columbus 6 8 Tabor City
14 5 Durham 8 12
15A 3 Alamance 7 9 Burlington
15B 3 Orange 4 8 Chapel Hill
Chatham 3 6 Siler City
16
5 Robeson
8 16
Fairmont,
Maxton,
Pembroke,
Red Springs,
Rowland,
St. Pauls
Scotland
3 5
16A 2 Scotland 3 5
Hoke 4 5
16B 5 Robeson 8 16 Fairmont ,
Maxton,
Pembroke,
Red Springs,
Rowland,
St. Pauls
17A 3 Caswell 2 5
Rockingham 4 9 Reidsville,
Eden,
Madison
17B 2 Stokes 2 4
Surry 5 8 Mt. Airy
18 9 Guilford 20 26 High Point
19A 4 Cabarrus 5 9 Kannapolis
Rowan 5 10
19B 3 Montgomery 2 4
Randolph 5 8 Liberty
20 5 Stanly 5 6
Union 4 6
Anson 4 5
Richmond 5 6 Hamlet
Moore 5 8 Southern
Pines
21 7 Forsyth 3 15 Kernersville
22 5 Alexander 2 3
Davidson 7 10 Thomasville
Davie 2 3
Iredell 4 8 Mooresville
23 3 Alleghany 1 2
Ashe 3 4
Wilkes 4 6
Yadkin 3 5
24 3 Avery 3 4
Madison 4 5
Mitchell 3 4
Watauga 4 6
Yancey 2 4
25 6 Burke 4 7
Caldwell 4 7
Catawba 6 9 Hickory
26 12 Mecklenburg 15 26
27A 5 Gaston 11 20
27B 3 Cleveland 5 8
Lincoln 4 6
28 4 Buncombe 6 15
29 4 Henderson 4 6
McDowell 3 4
Polk 3 4
Rutherford 6 8
Transylvania 2 4
30 3 Cherokee 3 4
Clay 1 2
Graham 2 3
Haywood 5 7 Canton
Jackson 3 4
Macon 3 4
Swain 2 3".
Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1989, the district court judgeships in District Court Districts 12 and 16, as constituted on the effective date of this act, are allocated as follows:
(1) The district court judgeships held on May 11, 1988, in District Court District 12 by judges who are residents of Cumberland County (Sol G. Cherry, Lacy S. Hair, Anna Elizabeth Keever, Patricia Ann Timmons-Goodson, and John Hair) are allocated to District Court District 12. Any vacancy in any of these judgeships which occurs before January 1, 1989, shall be filled by a resident of Cumberland County.
(2) The district court judgeship held on May 11, 1988, in District Court District 12 by a resident of Hoke County (Warren L. Pate) is allocated to District Court District 16A. Any vacancy in this judgeship which occurs before January 1, 1989, shall be filled by a resident of Hoke County.
(3) The district court judgeships which, on May 11, 1988, were held in District Court District 16 by residents of Robeson County, or for which all candidates for a term beginning in December who had qualified for ballot access as of May 11, 1988, are residents of Robeson County, and the new judgeships for District Court District 16 created by Section 126(a) of Chapter 738 of the Session Laws of 1987, are allocated to District Court District 16B. Any vacancy in any of these judgeships, or among the candidates for any of these, which occurs before January 1, 1989, shall be filled by a resident of Robeson County.
Sec. 6. The other district court judgeship for District Court District 16A, as provided for in Section 4 of this act, shall become effective July 1, 1989. The judgeship shall be filled, to the extent applicable, in the manner provided for in G.S. 7A-142, as amended by subsection (g) of this section. The relevant date under the last sentence of G.S. 7A-142 shall be May 1, 1989. The initial term of office shall expire on the first day of December 1990, and a successor shall be elected in 1990 for a four-year term.
Sec. 7. If House Bill 2216, 1987 Session is enacted, Section 16 of that act, which amends G.S. 7A-142, is repealed. In any case, effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-142 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-142. Vacancies in office.-A vacancy in the office of district judge shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the Governor from nominations submitted by the bar of the judicial district as defined in G.S. 84-19. If the district court district is comprised of counties in more than one judicial district, the nominees shall be submitted jointly by the bars of those judicial districts, but only those members who reside in the district court district shall participate in the selection of the nominees. If the district court judge was elected as the nominee of a political party, then the district bar shall submit to the Governor the names of three persons who are residents of the district court district who are duly authorized to practice law in the district and who are members of the same political party as the vacating judge; provided that if there are not three persons who are available, the bar shall submit the names of two persons who meet the qualifications of this sentence. Within 60 days after the district bar submits nominations for a vacancy, the Governor shall appoint to fill the vacancy. If the district bar fails to submit nominations within 30 days from the date the vacancy occurs, the Governor may appoint to fill the vacancy without waiting for nominations."
Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-465 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-465. Public defender;
defender districts; qualifications; compensation.-The office of public defender is established, effective January 1,
1970, in the following judicial districts: the twelfth and the eighteenth.
The office of public defender is established, effective
July 1, 1973, in the twenty-eighth judicial district.
The office of public defender is established, effective
July 1, 1975, in the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh judicial districts.
Effective July 1, 1978, the twenty-seventh judicial district is divided into
judicial districts 27A and 27B. On that date the current public defender of the
twenty-seventh district shall become the public defender for district 27A.
Effective January 1, 1981, the office of public defender
is established in the third judicial district.
Effective June 1, 1983, the office of public defender is
established in judicial district 15B.
(a) The following counties of the State are organized into the defender districts listed below and in each of those defender districts an office of public defender is established effective January 1, 1989:
Defender
District Counties
3A Pitt
3B Carteret
12 Cumberland
15B Orange, Chatham
16A Scotland, Hoke
16B Robeson
18 Guilford
26 Mecklenburg
27A Gaston
28 Buncombe
Provided that the effective date of the establishment of the office of public defender in Defender District 16B shall be the date that a superior court judge for Superior Court District 16B, other than the judge holding the judgeship for that district established by Chapter 509, Session Laws of 1987, takes office.
(b) The public defender shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in North Carolina, and shall devote his full time to the duties of his office.
In lieu of merit and other increment raises paid to regular State employees, a public defender shall receive as longevity pay an amount equal to four and eight-tenths percent (4.8%) of the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act payable monthly after five years of service, nine and six-tenths percent (9.6%) after 10 years of service, fourteen and four-tenths percent (14.4%) after 15 years of service, and nineteen and two-tenths percent (19.2%) after 20 years of service. 'Service' means service as a public defender."
Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-465 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a1) The public defender for each of the above defender districts shall represent indigents and otherwise perform all other duties of a public defender in the district and superior courts of the counties included in his defender district."
Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-466 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-466. Selection of
defender; term; Term of defender; selection; removal.-(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this
section, the term of office of each public defender is for four years,
beginning on the date specified in subsection (b) or (c) of this section, and
quadrennially thereafter.
(b) The public defender for each of the judicial districts listed below, as constituted on December 31, 1988, who is in office on that date, shall become the public defender for the defender district listed opposite that judicial district. The term of each such defender shall end on the date indicated and a new term shall begin on the following day.
Judicial
District Defender Term
as of 12/31/88 District Ends
12 12 December 31, 1989
15B 15B May 31, 1991
18 18 June 30, 1991
26 26 June 30, 1991
27A 27A June 30, 1991
28 28 June 30, 1989.
(c) The terms of the public defenders for Defender Districts 3A, 3B, and 16A shall begin on January 1, 1989. The term of the public defender for defender district 16B shall begin upon the appointment of the initial public defender for that district.
(d) Except in
Defender District 16B, for each new term beginning on or after January 1, 1989,
and to fill any vacancy, the Appointment. - The public defender of
each for a defender district shall be appointed by the
senior resident superior court judge of that district from a list of not
less than two and not more than three names nominated by written ballot of the
attorneys resident in the defender district who are licensed to practice
law in North Carolina. The balloting shall be conducted pursuant to regulations
promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The appointment
shall be made by the senior resident superior court judge of the superior court
district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A-44.1 which includes the
county or counties of the defender district for which the public defender is
being appointed.
(e) In Defender District 16B, for each new term beginning on or after January 1, 1989, and to fill any vacancy, the public defender for a defender district shall be appointed from a list of not less than three names nominated by written ballot of the attorneys resident in the defender district who are licensed to practice law in North Carolina. The balloting shall be conducted pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The appointment shall be made by the resident superior court judge of superior court district 16B other than the senior resident superior court judge.
(b) Term; Vacancy; Removal. - The terms of office of the
public defenders authorized in G.S. 7A-465 are for four years, beginning on the
dates specified in that section for each district, and each fourth year
thereafter. A vacancy in the office of public defender is filled for the
unexpired term as set forth in subsection (a).
(f) A public defender or assistant public defender may be suspended or removed from office, and reinstated, for the same causes and under the same procedures as are applicable to removal of a district attorney."
Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-467 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-467. Assistant defenders;
assigned counsel.-Each public defender is
entitled to at least one full-time assistant public defender, and to such
additional assistants such assistant public defenders and
investigators, full-time or part-time, as may be authorized by the
Administrative Office of the Courts. Assistants and investigators are
appointed by the public defender and serve at his pleasure. Compensation of
assistants shall be as provided in the biennial Current Operations
Appropriations Act. The Administrative Officer of the Courts shall fix
the compensation of each investigator. Assistants and investigators shall
perform such duties as may be assigned by the public defender.
A member of the district bar of any judicial district as
defined in G.S. 84-19, all or part of which includes or is included in a
defender district, who resides or regularly practices in that district and who
consents to such service may be assigned by the public defender to represent an
indigent person. person, and when so assigned is entitled to the
services of the defender's office to the same extent as a full-time public
defender. In assigning assistant defenders and members of the bar generally the
defender shall consider the nature of the case and the skill of counsel, to the
end that all indigent persons are adequately represented. If In
addition, if a conflict of interests prohibits the public defender from
representing an indigent person, or in unusual circumstances when, in the opinion
of the court the proper administration of justice requires it, the court may
assign any member of the district bar to represent an indigent person. person,
and when so assigned, counsel Any attorney assigned under this
subsection is entitled to the services of the defender's office to the same
extent as counsel assigned by the public defender.
(c) In assigning assistant defenders and members of the bar generally the defender shall consider the nature of the case and the skill of counsel, to the end that all indigent persons are adequately represented. Members of the bar assigned by the defender or by the court are compensated in the same manner as assigned counsel are compensated in districts which do not have a public defender.
(d) In lieu of merit and other increment raises paid to regular State employees, an assistant public defender shall receive as longevity pay an amount equal to four and eight-tenths percent (4.8%) of the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act payable monthly after five years of service, nine and six-tenths percent (9.6%) after 10 years of service, and fourteen and four-tenths percent (14.4%) after 15 years of service. 'Service' means service as an assistant public defender."
Sec. 12. Of the funds appropriated to the Indigent Persons Attorney Fee Fund in the Judicial Department, the Administrative Office of the Courts may use in fiscal year 1988-89 the sum of:
(1) Two hundred twelve thousand seven hundred twenty-one dollars ($212,721) for salaries, benefits, and related expenses for the office of public defender which is established for Defender District 16B on January 1, 1989, or as soon thereafter as the additional superior court judge authorized for Superior Court District 16B by this act takes office; and
(2) One hundred twenty-one thousand eight hundred forty dollars ($121,840) for salaries, benefits, and related expenses for the office of public defender which is established for Defender District 16A effective January 1, 1989.
Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-468 is repealed.
Sec. 14. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-41(a), as rewritten by Section 1 of Chapter 509, Session Laws of 1987, reads as rewritten:
"(a) The counties of the State are organized into judicial divisions and judicial districts, and each 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:
Judicial Judicial No. of Resident
Division District Counties Judges
First 1 Camden, Chowan, 2
Currituck,
Dare, Gates,
Pasquotank,
Perquimans
2 Beaufort, Hyde, 1
Martin,
Tyrrell, Washington
3A Pitt 1
3B Carteret, Craven, 1
Pamlico
4A Duplin, Jones, 1
Sampson
4B Onslow 1
5 New Hanover, 2
Pender
6A Halifax 1
6B Bertie, Hertford, 1
Northampton
7A Nash 1
7B (part of Wilson, 1
part of Edgecombe,
see subsection (b))
7C (part of Wilson, 1
part of Edgecombe,
see subsection (b))
8A Lenoir and Greene 1
8B Wayne 1
Second 9 Franklin, Granville, 2
Person,
Vance, Warren
10A (part of Wake 1
see subsection (b))
10B (part of Wake 2
see subsection (b))
10C (part of Wake 1
see subsection (b))
10D (part of Wake 1
see subsection (b))
11 Harnett, Johnston, 1
Lee
12A (part of Cumberland 1
see subsection (b))
12B (part of Cumberland 1
see subsection (b))
12C (part of Cumberland 2
see subsection (b))
13 Bladen, Brunswick, 1
Columbus
14A (part of Durham 1
see subsection (b))
14B (part of Durham 3
see subsection (b))
15A Alamance 1
15B Orange, Chatham 1
16A Scotland, Hoke 1
16B
Robeson
1 2
Third 17A Caswell, Rockingham 1
17B Stokes, Surry 1
18A (part of Guilford 1
see subsection (b))
18B (part of Guilford 1
see subsection (b))
18C (part of Guilford 1
see subsection (b))
18D (part of Guilford 1
see subsection (b))
18E (part of Guilford 1
see subsection (b))
19A Cabarrus 1
19B Montgomery, 1
Randolph
19C Rowan 1
20A Anson, Moore, 1
Richmond
20B Stanly, Union 1
21A (part of Forsyth 1
see subsection (b))
21B (part of Forsyth 1
see subsection (b))
21C (part of Forsyth 1
see subsection (b))
21D (part of Forsyth 1
see subsection (b))
22 Alexander, Davidson, 2
Davie, Iredell
23 Alleghany, Ashe, 1
Wilkes, Yadkin
Fourth 24 Avery, Madison, 1
Mitchell,
Watauga, Yancey
25A Burke, Caldwell 1
25B Catawba 1
26A (part of Mecklenburg 2
see subsection (b))
26B (part of Mecklenburg 2
see subsection (b))
26C (part of Mecklenburg 2
see subsection (b))
27A Gaston 2
27B Cleveland, Lincoln 1
28 Buncombe 2
29 Henderson, 1
McDowell, Polk,
Rutherford,
Transylvania
30A Cherokee, Clay, 1
Graham, Macon,
Swain
30B Haywood, Jackson 1".
Sec. 15. Effective January 1, 1989, G.S. 7A-41(d)(30) as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 509, Session Laws of 1987, reads as rewritten:
"(30) In the sixteenth-B judicial district, a judge shall be elected in 1988 to serve an eight-year term beginning January 1, 1989. In the sixteenth-B judicial district, a judge shall be appointed by the Governor to serve until the results of the 1990 general election are certified. A person shall be elected in the 1990 general election to serve the remainder of the term expiring December 31, 1996."
Sec. 16. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if both the judge for superior court district 16B as authorized by this act and the judge for superior court district 16B as created by Chapter 509, Session Laws of 1987, take the initial oath of office on the same calendar day, they shall both be considered to have the same amount of continuous service on the superior court for the purpose of any statute determining which is the senior judge.
Sec. 17. Except as provided herein, this section is effective upon ratification. The authority of the Administrative Office of the Courts, under G.S. 7A-466(d) as rewritten by Section 10 of this act effective January 1, 1989, to promulgate regulations for the conduct of balloting under that section may be exercised with respect to Defender Districts 3A, 3B, 16A, and 16B at any time after the ratification of this act.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6th day of July, 1988.