Article 9.
District Attorneys and Prosecutorial Districts.
§ 7A-60. District attorneys and prosecutorial districts.
(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, 2027) 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, 12
Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
Perquimans
2 Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, 8
Tyrrell, Washington
3 Pitt 15
4 Carteret, Craven, Pamlico 14
5 Duplin, Jones, Onslow, 20
Sampson
6 New Hanover, Pender 20
7 Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, 11
Northampton
8 Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson 22
9 Greene, Lenoir, Wayne 16
10 Wake 44
11 Franklin, Granville, Person 18
Vance, Warren
12 Harnett, Lee 12
13 Johnston 13
14 Cumberland 25
15 Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus 16
16 Durham 18
17 Alamance 12
18 Chatham, Orange 10
20 Robeson 13
21 Anson, Richmond, Scotland 11
22 Caswell, Rockingham 9
23 Stokes, Surry 9
24 Guilford 40
25 Cabarrus 11
26 Mecklenburg 61
27 Rowan 9
28 Montgomery, Stanly 6
29 Hoke, Moore 10
30 Union 11
31 Forsyth 27
32 Alexander, Iredell 15
33 Davidson, Davie 13
34 Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, 9
Yadkin
35 Avery, Madison, Mitchell, 8
Watauga, Yancey
36 Burke, Caldwell, Catawba 21
37 Randolph 10
38 Gaston 19
39 Cleveland, 13
Lincoln
40 Buncombe 14
41 McDowell, Rutherford 8
42 Henderson, Polk, Transylvania 10
43 Cherokee, Clay, Graham, 15
Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
Swain.
(a1) (Effective January 1, 2027) 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, 12
Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
Perquimans
2 Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, 8
Tyrrell, Washington
3 Pitt 15
4 Carteret, Craven, Pamlico 14
5 Duplin, Jones, Onslow, 20
Sampson
6 New Hanover, Pender 20
7 Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, 11
Northampton
8 Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson 22
9 Greene, Lenoir, Wayne 16
10 Wake 44
11 Franklin, Granville, Person 18
Vance, Warren
12 Harnett, Lee 12
13 Johnston 13
14 Cumberland 25
15 Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus 16
16 Durham 18
17 Alamance 12
18 Chatham, Orange 10
19 Catawba 10
20 Robeson 13
21 Anson, Richmond, Scotland 11
22 Caswell, Rockingham 9
23 Stokes, Surry 9
24 Guilford 40
25 Cabarrus 11
26 Mecklenburg 61
27 Rowan 9
28 Montgomery, Stanly 6
29 Hoke, Moore 10
30 Union 11
31 Forsyth 27
32 Alexander, Iredell 15
33 Davidson, Davie 13
34 Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, 9
Yadkin
35 Avery, Madison, Mitchell, 8
Watauga, Yancey
36 Burke, Caldwell 11
37 Randolph 10
38 Gaston 19
39 Cleveland, 13
Lincoln
40 Buncombe 14
41 McDowell, Rutherford 8
42 Henderson, Polk, Transylvania 10
43 Cherokee, Clay, Graham, 15
Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
Swain.
(a2) Repealed by Session Laws 2017-57, s. 18B.9(f), effective June 28, 2017.
(a3) In a manner not inconsistent with applicable State law, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys shall have the authority to assign to specific counties assistant district attorney positions created by the General Assembly for the purpose of serving as special assistant United States attorneys. The Conference will retain assignment authority of assistant district attorney positions referenced in this subsection for so long as the positions are funded for that purpose.
The number of assistant district attorney positions subject to the requirements of this subsection shall be six.
(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); 2017-6, s. 3; 2017-57, s. 18B.9(e), (f), (h), (i); 2017-197, s. 5.6(a)-(c); 2018-5, s. 18B.6; 2018-114, s. 24(a), (b); 2018-121, ss. 3(a)-(d), 7; 2018-145, s. 8(a); 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 6.1; 2019-229, s. 1(a)-(c); 2021-91, s. 13(a), (b); 2021-180, s. 16.8(a); 2022-74, s. 16.6; 2023-134, ss. 16.4(a)-(c), 16.26(d), (e), (g); 2024-1, s. 5.2(a).)