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Clerk
of Court
The Clerk of Superior Court is the hub at the center of
all judicial proceedings in both the District and Superior Court
Divisions of the General Court of Justice in North Carolina. As a Constitutional Office, the Clerk
serves the citizens as an elected judicial official with a four year term
of office.
The Clerk’s responsibilities are vital to the
administration of justice. The clerical task of filing, processing,
indexing, and preserving court documents is only a part of that job.
Unique to North
Carolina alone, the clerk also serves as a
judge and presides over many matters that are within her jurisdiction.
To better understand this diverse and complex position,
the responsibilities of the Clerk of Superior Court have been divided into four major areas:
Judge
Record Keeper
Comptroller
Administrator
As Probate Judge, the Clerk has exclusive original
jurisdiction of probate and administration of decedent's estates,
administration of guardianships and trusts, and supervision of other
fiduciaries.
The Clerk presides over all Special Proceedings and many
other legal matters to include competency and guardianship proceedings,
foreclosure, judicial sales, condemnation of land for public use,
adoption and legitimation, name changes, partitioning of property, and
boundary line disputes. The Clerk
also hears matters in both criminal and civil actions including initial
appearance, determining conditions of release, and innocent owner vehicle
seizures, claim and delivery, default judgments, as well as uncontested
and default divorces. The Clerk
accepts written appearances, waivers of trial or hearing and pleas of
guilty or admissions of responsibility in certain traffic, wildlife &
boating, alcoholic beverage, and worthless check cases.
As Record Keeper, the Clerk is responsible for maintaining uniform
consolidated records of all judicial
proceedings in both the district court division and the superior court
division. All lawsuits, civil actions, criminal actions, special
proceedings, estates, juvenile actions, minutes of the court and all
other records required by law to be maintained in a safe place, not only
for current use, but for reference purposes and future examinations by
the public.
As Comptroller, the Clerk is required to receive,
administer, invest and disburse millions of dollars received each year
into the court system collected from court costs, fees, fines,
forfeitures, bonds, civil judgments, etc. The Clerk receives,
administers, and invests large sums of money in trust for minors and incapacitated
adults and returns millions of dollars each year to the county, school
fund, law enforcement and the State Treasurer.
As Administrator, the Clerk is responsible for performing
numerous ministerial acts such as the issuance of summons. writs of
execution, subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and/or the
production of documents, orders for arrest, show cause orders, bond
forfeitures, just to name a few.
Ms. Priest is responsible for managing the overall
operations of the clerk's office and for supervising approximately 90
employees who assist the public in filing and accessing court documents,
staffing the courtrooms, and performing the many complex duties required
in order to ensure that court records are accurate; including magistrates with respect to dockets,
records and accountings.
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