Page:The Federal and state constitutions v5.djvu/285

Rh Until altered by law, the following shall be the judicial districts:

First district. — Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Gates, Hertford, and Bertie.

Second district. — Tyrrell, Hyde, Washington, Beaufort, Martin, Pitt, and Edgecombe.

Third district. — Craven, Carteret, Jones, Greene, Onslow, Lenoir, Wayne, and Wilson.

Fourth district. — Brunswick, New Hanover, Duplin, Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, and Robeson.

Fifth district. — Cumberland, Harnett, Moore, Richmond, Anson, Montgomery, Stanly, and Union.

Sixth district. — Northampton, Warren, Halifax, Wake, Nash, Franklin, Johnston, and Granville. Seventh district. — Person, Orange, Chatham, Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Caswell, and Rockingham.

Eighth district. — Stokes, Forsyth, Davidson, Rowan, Davie, Yadkin, and Surry.

Ninth district. — Catawba, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Gaston, Cleveland, Rutherford, and Polk.

Tenth district. — Iredell, Burke, Caldwell, Wilkes, Alexander, and McDowel.

Eleventh district. — Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga, Mitchell, Yancy, Madison, and Buncombe.

Twelfth district. — Henderson, Transylvania, Haywood, Macon, Jackson, Clay, and Cherokee.

Every judge of a superior court shall reside in his district while holding his office. The judges may exchange districts with each other with the consent of the governor, and the governor, for good reasons, which he shall report to the legislature at its current or next session, may require any judge to hold one or more specified terms of said courts in lieu of the judge in whose district they are.

The superior courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of all civil actions, whereof exclusive original jurisdiction is not given to some other courts; and of all criminal actions, in which the punishment may exceed a fine of fifty dollars or imprisonment for one month.

The superior courts shall have appellate jurisdiction of all issues of law or fact, determined by a probate judge or a justice of the peace, where the matter in controversy exceeds twenty-five dollars, and of matters of law in all cases.

The clerks of the superior courts shall have jurisdiction of the probate of deeds, the granting of letters testamentary and of administration, the appointment of guardians, the apprenticing of orphans, to audit the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, and of such other matters as shall be prescribed by law. All issues of fact joined before them shall be transferred to the superior courts for trial, and appeals shall lie to the superior courts from their judgments in all matters of law.

In all issues of fact, joined in any court, the parties may waive the right to have the same determined by jury, in which case the finding of the judge upon the facts shall have the force and effect of a verdict of a jury.