The

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law.

Sources

The

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

, published in the ''North Carolina Session Laws'', and codified in the ''North Carolina General Statutes''. State agency regulations (sometimes called administrative law) are published in the ''North Carolina Register'' and codified in the ''North Carolina Administrative Code''. North Carolina's legal system is based on

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, which are published in the ''North Carolina Reports'' and ''North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports'', respectively. Counties, cities, towns, and villages may also promulgate

local ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () a ...

Constitution

North Carolina has had three constitutions, adopted in 1776, 1868, and 1971, respectively. Like the federal constitution does for the federal government, the North Carolina Constitution both provides for the structure of the North Carolina government and enumerates rights which the North Carolina government may not infringe. Because " he North Carolina Constitution expresses the will of the people of heState," it is "the supreme law of the land." "If there is a conflict between" a state statute and the North Carolina Constitution, the constitution controls because it "is the superior rule of law in that situation." The

Supreme Court of North Carolina The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

has the “power and . . . duty to determine whether challenged acts of the General Assembly violate the constitution,” by “constru ngand appl ingthe provisions of” that document “with finality.” To determine whether a statute violates the North Carolina Constitution, a court looks to the text and “historical context” of the “applicable constitutional provision” and subsequent court decisions interpreting that text and history. Laws passed by the General Assembly are presumptively constitutional and will be held unconstitutional only when “the constitutional violation is plain and clear.”

Regulations

Pursuant to certain statutes, state agencies have promulgated

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. ...

s, also known as

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as " regulations"), ...

. The ''North Carolina Register'' includes information about state agency rules, administrative rules, executive orders and other notices, and is published bimonthly. The ''State of North Carolina Administrative Code'' (NCAC) contains all the rules adopted by the state agencies and occupational licensing boards in North Carolina. Both are compiled and published by the Rules Division of the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings.

Case law

The legal system of North Carolina is based on the

. Like all U.S. states except

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, North Carolina has a

reception statute A reception statute is a statutory law adopted as a former British colony becomes independent by which the new nation adopts, or receives, the English common law before its independence to the extent not explicitly rejected by the legislative body ...

providing for the "reception" of

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, b ...

. All statutes, regulations, and ordinances are subject to

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

. Pursuant to common law tradition, the courts of North Carolina have developed a large body of

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

through the decisions of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

and

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

. The decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are published in the ''North Carolina Reports'' and ''North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports'', respectively. Opinions are first published online on filing day as slip opinions, and may be withdrawn or corrected until the mandate issues 20 days later. Slip opinions are then printed with headnotes and other finding aids in soft-bound books called Advance Sheets and online, and are given citations to the official reports. Advance sheets are then compiled and printed in the hard-bound volumes of the ''North Carolina Reports'' and ''North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports'', respectively. Trial court opinions are often neither written nor published.

Local ordinances

Local governments are created by acts of the General Assembly, which define their boundaries and approve their charters. These charters can be changed by legislative action or, in certain cases, by

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

amendments adopted by the local governments. Local government charters and legislative amendments can be found in the ''North Carolina Session Laws'', and all home rule changes must be filed with the Secretary of State and the Legislative Library.

References

External links

North Carolina General Statutes
from the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Caroli ...

North Carolina Administrative Code
from the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings
North Carolina Session Laws
from the North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina Register
from the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings
Court slip opinions
from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts
Local ordinance codes
from Public.Resource.Org * Case law: {{Authority control