North Carolina

North Carolina sits in the Southeastern region of the US, and is located in the Fourth Federal Circuit Court System. With a land area of nearly 54,000 sq. miles it is the 28th most expansive US state, and with over 10 million residents, is the 9th most populous state. North Carolina is divided into 100 counties, with the capital city of Raleigh. This city, along with Durham, makes up the Research Triangle Park, which is the largest research park in the US.  Charlotte is the most populous municipal, and is also the third largest banking center in the US, after New York and San Francisco.

Although the Great Depression greatly affected the state, the New Deal which was struck by Franklin D. Roosevelt helped farmers in the cotton and tobacco industries. Piedmont, Durham, and Raleigh, were among the many cities which thrived soon after WWII, helping the state’s economy begin its growth following the period of depression. The development of the Research Triangle, major universities in the area, and Charlotte becoming a major banking hub in the 1990s, all led to the state’s economic prowess. This along with the boom in tourism, has greatly helped the state recover after several years of downturn. In fact, North Carolina has a very broad economic base. Research, banking, hydroelectric power, agriculture, and tourism, are a few of the many industries the state thrives in. Charlotte is also a major textile and trade hub, and in 2010 Forbes Magazine rated the state as the 3rd best for Business.  

The Government of North Carolina has a structure that was laid out in the North Carolina Constitution.  Like the federal government, the state has a government broken into the judicial, legislative, and executive branches.

The executive branch consists of a ten-member state council, which includes the following officers:

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Commissioner of Agriculture
• Commissioner of Insurance
• Commissioner of Labor
• Superintendent of Public Education
• State Treasurer
• State Auditor

The legislative branch is the North Carolina General Assembly, consisting of the 120-member North Carolina House of Representatives and the 50-member North Carolina Senate.

The judicial branch of North Carolina is led by the Supreme Court of North Carolina, consisting of seven justices.  The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court, consisting of 15 member judges who rule on cases in panels of three.  These two courts combined create the appellate division of the state’s court system.

North Carolina’s trial court division consists of the Superior Court and the District Court.  The Superior Court hears all the felony cases and reviews District court decisions. The District court has original jurisdiction over family law matters, juvenile cases for children under the age of 16 and children under 18 who are dependent, neglected or abused. Additionally, the court hears civil claims under $10,000, and small claims involving up to $5000.

North Carolina contributes 15 electoral votes to the general election.

Among the popular universities in the state are Duke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest. There are a total of 58 public community colleges in the state, and North Carolina State University is the largest in the state, with over 34,000 enrolled students.

Industrialization, marijuana legalization, immigration, workplace and labor and employment news stories, Bitcoin and data security/breach cases, are some of the major stories covered by the National Law Review, as they relate to the state of North Carolina. Visitors will find these, and other major updates, legislation, agency news, and prominent headlines on the NLR website, and will routinely find the most up to date stories from the state.