The Superior Court is North Carolina 's general jurisdiction trial court . It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court.
83-481: Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina . As of the 2020 census , the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville . Nash County is part of the Rocky Mount , NC Metropolitan Statistical Area . The area eventually comprising Nash County was originally organized as a part of Edgecombe County . Settlement first occurred in the 1740s; the earliest land grants date to 1743. As
166-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
249-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
332-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
415-460: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
498-482: A given circuit consecutively. In 1857, a system of regular rotation was established. In 1868, North Carolina adopted a new constitution. The document elevated the Superior Court to a constitutional institution, and provided for all judges in the state to be popularly elected to serve eight-year terms. After 1868, judges held court only in their districts, but in 1878, the previous system of statewide rotating circuits
581-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
664-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
747-882: A matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
830-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
913-454: A senior resident judge. A clerk of Superior Court is elected in every county to keep court records. The clerk also serves as a judge of probate and is empowered to hold certain hearings, such as in cases involving adoptions, questions of guardianship for incompetent adults, and partitions of land. Senior resident judges may remove clerks from office in their district for misconduct or incapacity, and vacancies in clerk's offices are filled by
SECTION 10
#1732847864848996-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
1079-564: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
1162-411: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's oldest court. It
1245-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
1328-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
1411-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
1494-769: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
1577-565: Is one of just two counties (the other being Warren County, Mississippi ) to alternate its vote the last five elections, voting for John McCain in 2008, Obama in 2012, Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020, and Trump in 2024. The Sheriff's Office provides police services for the unincorporated areas of the county. As of 2023, the biggest sectors in Nash County's economy were manufacturing, healthcare and social services, retail, food and accommodation services, and education. As of 2023, over 40 percent of
1660-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
1743-557: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
SECTION 20
#17328478648481826-501: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
1909-634: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
1992-454: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
2075-597: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
2158-552: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
2241-559: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
2324-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
2407-569: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
2490-671: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
2573-466: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
Nash County, North Carolina - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-602: The help page ). County (United States) In the United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as
2739-473: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
2822-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
2905-454: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
2988-973: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
3071-567: The Business Court was given jurisdiction of certain commercial receiverships. Again by statute, the Business Court also hears certain tax related claims. The legislature first expanded the number of Business Court judges in 2005, from one to three, and there were five judges as of 2017, which remains the number (as of May 2024). In 2014, the Business Court Modernization Act became law, providing for, among other things,
3154-750: The General Court of Justice. The Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the state. In criminal matters, superior courts hear all felony cases and handle appeals of misdemeanors and infractions from District Courts. In civil matters, superior courts have original jurisdiction over civil disputes with an amount in controversy exceeding $ 25,000. The Superior Court also adjudicates most appeals from state administrative agencies. The Superior Courts are divided into five divisions and further into 48 districts. As of 2022, there are 109 Superior Court judges. Judges are constitutionally required to be licensed attorneys, but are forbidden from engaging in
3237-625: The House of Representatives' 24th and 25th districts. It lies within the bounds of North Carolina's 8th Prosecutorial District, the 8A Superior Court District, and the 8th District Court District. Nash County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments . From the turn of the 20th century North Carolina established barriers that effectively disfranchised the large black population, which had been supporting Republican candidates. Conservative whites voted overwhelmingly Democratic and
3320-490: The Peidmont and Coastal Plain regions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 542.82 square miles (1,405.9 km), of which 540.44 square miles (1,399.7 km) is land and 2.38 square miles (6.2 km) (0.44%) is covered by water. Elevation in the county gradually rises from the east to the west. As of the 2020 census , there were 94,970 people, 37,574 households, and 27,002 families residing in
3403-556: The Republicans never received eleven percent of the county's limited electorate's ballots. Many whites supported George Wallace 's American Independent candidacy in 1968, after passage of the Voting Rights Act. More voted Republican for the first time in 1972. While Nash voters supported favorite son and Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976, the county's majority white voters shifted to Republican candidates from 1980 to 2004. But
Nash County, North Carolina - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-644: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
3569-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
3652-475: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
3735-683: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
3818-484: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
3901-611: The appointment of the senior resident judge pending the next state legislative election. The clerks are also responsible for nominating local magistrates, subject to the confirmation of the senior resident judge. At the direction of the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court , a special superior court judge may convene the North Carolina Business Court to oversee trials involving complex questions of corporate and commercial law. Ben F. Tennille
3984-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
4067-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
4150-494: The construction of gristmills. In the 1830s the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was laid, leading to further settlement. The building of a spur line in 1840 led to the eventual creation of the community of Whitakers. By the 1860s, Nash County had a population over 11,600 and an economy centered on agriculture. In 1855, parts of Nash, Edgecombe , Johnston , and Wayne counties were combined to form Wilson County . Over 1,000 men from
4233-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
SECTION 50
#17328478648484316-520: The county and state were part of the resulting political " Solid South " county. Although it gave a plurality to Populist candidate James B. Weaver in 1892, unlike Sampson County or Alabama's Chilton County , it did not subsequently turn to the Republican Party. Nash County would vote Democratic in every election from 1896 to 1964 – in Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman 's five elections,
4399-568: The county fought in the American Civil War . In 1871, after significant political controversy, all parts of Edgecombe County west of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were annexed to Nash leading to the bifurcation of the Edgecombe communities of Battleboro and Sharpsburg between the two counties. As a result of the boundary shift, Nash County's black population grew and a greater portion of
4482-457: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
4565-516: The county manager. The manager wields executive authority over county administration, appoints directors of county government departments, and implement the commission's decisions. County government provides various services, including public safety, social services, cultural activities, and the provision of utilities. Nash County is represented in the General Assembly by the Senate's 11th district and
4648-499: The county's area is cultivated farmland. Its top agricultural products are poultry, eggs, tobacco, and sweetpotatoes. Nash is one of the top sweetpotato-producing counties in the state. Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see
4731-416: The county. After decades of growth, between 2010 and 2020, Nash County recorded an almost one percent population loss. Nash County is run by a commission–manager government . Legislative and policy-making power is vested in a seven-member board of commissioners, with the commissioners elected in districts to serve four-year staggered terms. The board passes ordinances, adopts the county budget, and appoints
4814-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
4897-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
4980-622: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
5063-534: The governor and confirmed by the General Assembly to serve five-year terms, and may serve in a district in which they do not reside. The chief justice of the Supreme Court may also assign judges to districts in emergency situations. Judges are required by the state constitution to rotate from district to district within their division every six months in order to avoid the incidence of conflicts of interest. The administrative affairs of each district are supervised by
SECTION 60
#17328478648485146-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
5229-548: The last four elections have been closely contested. The margin of victory has been less than 1,000 votes in every election since. Nash County has emerged in recent years as a swing county and a bellwether county. As of 2024, it is the only North Carolina county to support the winning U.S. presidential election four times in a row, supporting Barack Obama in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and Trump in 2024. In 2024, it also split its majority vote between Republican and Democratic statewide candidates. Nash County also
5312-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
5395-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
5478-674: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
5561-514: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
5644-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
5727-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
5810-642: The population of Edgecombe increased, citizens in the western portion of the county found it difficult to travel to the county seat of Tarboro to conduct official business. Legislator Nathan Boddie proposed to the North Carolina Provincial Congress that the county be divided. As a result, Nash was formed from all parts of Edgecombe west of the Falls of the Tar River in 1777. It was named for American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash , who
5893-399: The private practice of law during their tenures. They must also be under the age of 72 years. They are popularly elected in the district in which they reside and serve a term of eight years. The governor appoints judges to fill vacancies on the bench pending the next state legislative election or until the expiration of a preceding incumbent's term. Special Superior Court judges are nominated by
5976-578: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
6059-455: The state grew. From 1799 until 1819, some Superior Court judges would sit together and serve as the state's appellate court . In 1806, areas of the state were grouped into six circuits , and Superiors Court judges were required to hold sessions in every county twice a year. Circuit assignments were decided by the judges themselves, who would meet every year to schedule their sessions, under the general agreement that no judge should hold court in
6142-541: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
6225-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
6308-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
6391-538: The town of Rocky Mount also lay within Nash County's border, including Rocky Mount Mills , the second textile mill to exist within in the state. In 1899, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad established repair shops in Rocky Mount, precipitating the city's rapid growth. In 1921 the county's third courthouse was built. Nash County rests in the northeastern part of North Carolina along the dividing line between
6474-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
6557-614: Was established by a law passed on November 15, 1777, which created a "Superior Court" system with six districts, with its main duty to serve as a trial court. Under the terms of the state constitution, the court's judges were elected by the North Carolina General Assembly and served as long as they maintained good behavior. The first three judges elected were Samuel Ashe of New Hanover County , Samuel Spencer of Anson County , and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice James Iredell of Chowan County . Districts were added as
6640-521: Was mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown . The first session of the county court met on April 1, 1778, in the home of Micajah Thomas. Court was then held in a temporary building at Peach Tree until a permanent courthouse was erected in Nashville in 1784. Nashville was formally designated the seat of county government in 1815 and was incorporated in 1823. In 1833, the county's first courthouse burned down and
6723-558: Was reinstated. Superior Court judges adopted the practice of wearing robes in court at the beginning of 1958. In 1996, the North Carolina Business Court was established as a venue for Superior Court judges to try cases involving complex questions of corporate and commercial law. The Superior Court Division, alongside the Appellate Division, and the District Court Division , make up North Carolina's unified court system,
6806-507: Was replaced by a brick building. In 1786, the state of North Carolina conducted a census which recorded a total population of 5,277 in Nash County. The first U.S. Census in 1790 recorded a total population of 7,393, of whom 2,099 were slaves, 183 were free blacks, and the rest whites. Several early communities in Nash County developed as stops along stagecoach routes, including Dortches, Red Oak, Stanhope, Hilliardston, and Castalia. Settlement also occurred along rivers and creeks, accompanied by
6889-635: Was the first appointed Business Court judge. It is one of the oldest and most influential business courts in the United States. Although the Supreme Court created the Business Court via amending General Rules of Practice 2.1 and 2.2, North Carolina's executive and legislative branches have been involved with the Business Court's implementation and development. The Business Court's jurisdiction includes statutorily based mandatory complex business cases and discretionary complex business cases, as well as Supreme Court rule based exceptional cases, under General Rule of Practice 2.1. As of January 1, 2021, by statute,
#847152