NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 377

SENATE BILL 213

 

 

AN ACT TO MAKE CERTAIN TECHNICAL AND EDITORIAL AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTERS 7, 7A, 8, 9, AND 15 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES REQUIRED BY THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  The seventh paragraph of G.S. 7-89 is revised and transferred to G.S. Chapter 8, Article 11 to read as follows:

"G.S. 8-85.  Court reporter's certified transcription. — Testimony taken and transcribed by a court reporter and certified by the reporter or by the judge who presided at the trial at which the testimony was given, may be offered in evidence in any court as the deposition of the witness whose testimony is so taken and transcribed, in the manner, and under the rules governing the introduction of depositions in civil actions."

Sec. 1.1.  G.S. Chapter 7, Article 38 (Judicial Council) is transferred to Chapter 7A, renumbered Article 31, and G.S. 7-448 through 7-456 of that Article are renumbered 7A-400 through 7A-409, respectively.

Sec. 2.  G.S. 7A-6(c) is rewritten as follows:

"(c)       The Administrative Officer of the Courts shall furnish, without charge, one copy of the advance sheets of the appellate division to each justice and judge of the General Court of Justice, to each public defender, and to each superior court clerk. He shall furnish two copies to each superior court solicitor, and as many copies as may be reasonably necessary to the Supreme Court library."

Sec 3.  G.S. 7A-27 is amended by adding a new subsection to read as follows:

"(e)       From any other order or judgment of the superior court from which an appeal is authorized by statute, appeal lies of right directly to the Court of Appeals."

Sec. 4.  G.S. 7A-40 is hereby amended by deleting the last sentence.

Sec 5.  G.S. 7A-41 is amended by deleting the last sentence.

Sec. 5.1.  G.S. 7A-61 is amended by inserting in line one after the word "shall" the words "prepare the trial dockets,".

Sec 6.  G. S. 7A-63 is amended by deleting from the first sentence the words "for the same term of office as the solicitor" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "to serve at his pleasure"; and by changing the comma in the second sentence to a period, deleting all words thereafter in the second sentence.

Sec 7.  G.S. 7A-133 is amended by deleting from the table the word "Hickory" in the column entitled "Additional Seats of Court" and reinserting the word "Hickory" in the same column opposite "Catawba" County of the 25th Judicial district.

Sec. 8.  G.S. 7A-146(2) is amended by inserting the word "noncriminal" after the word "of" and before the word "matters".

Sec 9.  G.S. 7A-213 is amended by deleting from the end of the first sentence the words "he desires to commence the action" and by inserting in lieu thereof the words "the defendant, or one of the defendants, resides".

Sec 10.  G.S. 7A-216 is amended by deleting from the end of the first sentence the words "and verified" and inserting in lieu thereof the following words: "except the complaint in an action for summary ejectment may be signed by an agent for the plaintiff".

Sec. 11.  G.S. 7A-222 is amended by deleting from the third and fourth sentences the word "nonsuit" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "dismissal".

Sec. 12.  G.S. 7A-223 is amended by adding a sentence at the beginning to read as follows: "In any small claim action demanding summary ejectment or past due rent, or both, the complaint may be signed by an agent acting for the plaintiff who has actual knowledge of the facts alleged in the complaint."

Sec. 13.  G.S. 7A-247 is amended by deleting from the third line the words "remedies of mandamus and", inserting in lieu thereof the words "remedy of", and by deleting from line four the word "each", inserting in lieu thereof the word "that".

Sec. 14.  G.S. 7A-258(a) is amended by deleting the word "article" at the end of the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the word "Subchapter".

Sec. 15.  G.S. 7A-271(b) is amended by inserting at the beginning thereof the following sentence: "Appeals by the State or the defendant from the district court are to the superior court."

Sec. 16.  G.S. 7A-290 is amended by deleting the fourth and fifth sentences, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Upon expiration of the 10 day period in which an appeal may be entered, if an appeal has been entered and not withdrawn, the clerk shall transfer the case to the district or superior court docket. The original bail shall stand pending appeal, unless the judge orders bail denied, increased, or reduced."

Sec. 17.  G.S. 7A-292 is amended by deleting subsection (6) in its entirety and renumbering subsections (7) through (14) as (6) through (13), respectively.

Sec. 18. G.S. 7A-300(a) is amended by deleting from subsection (4) the words "(including holdover judges)", by renumbering subsection "(9)" to become new subsection "(11)", and by adding two new subsections to read as follows:

"(9)      Transcripts of preliminary hearings in indigency cases;

(10)      Transcript of the evidence and trial court charge furnished the solicitor when a criminal action is appealed to the appellate division; and".

Sec. 19.  G.S. 7A-304(a) is amended by inserting in lines four and five the words "and collected" after the word "assessed".

Sec. 20.  G.S. 7A-304(b) is amended by adding to the end thereof the following: "No superior court costs shall be assessed against a defendant who gives notice of appeal from the district court but withdraws it prior to the expiration of the 10 day period for entering notice of appeal. When a case is reversed on appeal, the defendant shall not be liable for costs, and the State shall be liable for the cost of printing records and briefs in the appellate division."

Sec. 21.  G.S. 7A-304(c) is amended by deleting from the second line the word "and" which appears after the words "witness fees", inserting in lieu thereof a comma, and by inserting in the second line after the words "jail fees" the words "and cost of necessary trial transcripts".

Sec. 22.  A new section is inserted after G.S. 7A-305, to read as follows:

"G.S. 7A-305.1.  When discovery procedures under Rule 27 of the Rules of Civil Procedure are utilized, the sum of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be assessed and collected by the clerk at the time of the filing of the verified petition. If a civil action is subsequently initiated, the twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be credited against costs in the civil action."

Sec. 23.  G.S. 7A-305(c) is amended by adding to the end thereof the following sentence: "He shall also collect the fee for discovery procedures under Rule 27(a) and(b) at the time of the filing of the verified petition."

Sec. 24.  G.S. 7A-305(d) is amended by adding a new subsection thereto to read as follows: "(9) Premiums for surety bonds for prosecution, as authorized by G.S. 1-109."

Sec. 25.  G.S. 7A-306(c)(6) is amended by adding thereto a sentence to read as follows: "If a special proceeding lasts more than one half day, the same daily compensation as regular jurors."

Sec. 26.  G.S. 7A-312 is amended by changing the period at the end of the last sentence to a comma, and adding the following: "except that if a special proceeding lasts more than one half day, the special jurors shall receive the same daily compensation as regular jurors."

Sec. 27.  G.S. 7A-314 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"G.S. 7A-314.  Uniform fees for witnesses; experts; limit on number. — (a) A witness under subpoena, bound over, or recognized, other than a salaried state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, or an out-of-state witness in a criminal case, whether to testify before the court, jury of view, magistrate, clerk, referee, commissioner, appraiser, or arbitrator shall be entitled to receive five dollars ($5.00) per day, or fraction thereof, during his attendance, which must be certified to the clerk of superior court.

(b)        A witness entitled to the fee set forth in subsection (a) of this section, and a law enforcement officer who qualifies as a witness, shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for travel expenses as follows:

(1)        A witness whose residence is outside the county of appearance but within 75 miles of the place of appearance shall be entitled to receive mileage reimbursement at the rate currently authorized for State employees, for each mile necessarily traveled from his place of residence to the place of appearance and return, each day.

(2)        A witness whose residence is outside the county of appearance and more than 75 miles from the place of appearance shall be entitled to receive mileage reimbursement at the rate currently authorized State employees for one round-trip from his place of residence to the place of appearance. A witness required to appear more than one day shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for actual expenses incurred for lodging and meals not to exceed the maximum currently authorized for State employees, in lieu of daily mileage.

(c)        A witness who resides in a state other than North Carolina and who appears for the purpose of testifying in a criminal action and proves his attendance may be compensated at the rate of ten cents (10ȼ) a mile for one round-trip from his place of residence to the place of appearance, and five dollars ($5.00) for each day that he is required to travel and attend as a witness, upon order of the court based upon a finding that the person was a necessary witness. If such a witness is required to appear more than one day, he is also entitled to reimbursement for actual expenses incurred for lodging and meals, not to exceed the maximum currently authorized for State employees.

(d)        An expert witness, other than a salaried state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, shall receive such compensation and allowances as the court, in its discretion, may authorize. A law enforcement officer who appears as an expert witness shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses only, as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(e)        If more than two witnesses are subpoenaed, bound over, or recognized, to prove a single material fact, the expense of the additional witnesses shall be borne by the party issuing or requesting the subpoena."

Sec. 28.  G.S. 7A-316 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"G.S. 7A-316.  Payment of witness fees in criminal actions. — A witness in a criminal action who is entitled to a witness fee and who proves his attendance prior to assessment of the bill of costs shall be paid by the clerk from State funds and the amount disbursed shall be assessed in the bill of costs. When the State is liable for the fee, a witness who proves his attendance not later than the last day of court in the week in which the trial was completed shall be paid by the clerk from State funds. If more than two witnesses shall be subpoenaed, bound over, or recognized, to prove a single material fact, disbursements to such additional witnesses shall be charged against the party issuing or requesting the subpoena."

Sec. 29.  G.S. Chapter 7A, Subchapter VII ("Administrative Office of the Courts") is retitled "Administrative Matters".

Sec. 30.  G.S. 9-6(b) is amended by deleting the second sentence.

Sec. 30.1.  G.S. 15-140 is rewritten to read as follows:

"G.S. 15-140.  In any criminal action in the superior court where the offense charged is a misdemeanor, the defendant may waive the finding and return into court of a bill of indictment. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the prosecution shall be on a written information, signed by the solicitor, which information shall contain as full and complete a statement of the accusation as would be required in an indictment. No waiver of a bill of indictment shall be allowed by the court unless by the consent of the defendant's counsel. Pursuant to G.S. 7A-271(a)(5), the superior court is authorized to accept a plea to a related charge in misdemeanors appeals from the district court if the related charge is contained in the written information authorized by this section."

Sec. 31.  G.S. 15-200 is amended by adding two sentences to the end of the second paragraph to read as follows: "The provisions of this section apply also to the district court division. When a probationer resides in, or violates the terms of his probation in, a county and judicial district other than that in which the probationer was placed on probation by a district court, concurrent jurisdiction is hereby vested in the judges of the district court of the district in which the probationer resides or in which he violates the terms of his probation."

Sec. 32.  The following chapters, articles, and sections of the General Statutes are repealed:

(a)  Chapter 7, except Article 38 (Judicial Council); (b) Article 30 ("Transitional Matters") of Chapter 7A; (c) 7A-35, 7A-67, 7A-95(f), 7A-145, 7A-252, 7A-261, 7A-275, 7A-300(b), 7A-319, 7A-452(c), 9-12(c), and 15-183.1; and, (d) All other laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act.

Sec. 33.  Partial invalidity. — If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared severable.

Sec. 34.  This act shall become effective October 1, 1971.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 14th day of May, 1971.