NORTH CAROLINA MAGISTRATE WEEK
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, in 1955, then North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges called for reform in the North Carolina Judicial System; in 1962, the General Assembly provided for the repeal of the Office of Justice of the Peace; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognized the need for a judicial official at the level formerly served by the Justice of the Peace, and created the Office of Magistrate; and
WHEREAS, in all 100 counties in North Carolina, the magistrate is a judicial official, fully integrated in the General Court of Justice and a division of District Court; and
WHEREAS, magistrates serve as the gateway to the North Carolina Justice System, and are vital to the protection of individual rights and proper administration of justice; and
WHEREAS, in criminal cases, the pretrial process begins with the magistrate, whose primary function is to provide an independent, unbiased review of charges and complaints by law enforcement officers and residents; and
WHEREAS, in civil cases, magistrates serve as the presiding judicial official in small claims court, and issue important processes in cases of domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, magistrates’ crucial role in the involuntary commitment process affords respondents with mental illness and substance abuse concerns access to due process and potential treatment; and
WHEREAS, the 700 men and women serving as magistrates from our coast to our mountains make our state stronger and safer through their diligence, experience, and integrity;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 16 – 20, 2024, as “NORTH CAROLINA MAGISTRATE WEEK” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
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Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this tenth day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.