§ 20-79.6. Special registration plates for members of the judiciary. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 20‑79.6.  Specialregistration plates for members of the judiciary.

(a)        Supreme Court. – Aspecial plate issued to a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court shallbear the words "Supreme Court" and the Great Seal of North Carolinaand a number from 1 through 7. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NorthCarolina shall be issued the plate bearing the number 1 and the remainingplates shall be issued to the Associate Justices on the basis of seniority.

Special plates issued toretired members of the Supreme Court shall bear a number indicating themember's position of seniority at the time of retirement followed by the letter"X" to indicate the member's retired status.

(a1)      Court of Appeals. –A special plate issued to a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals shallbear the words "Court of Appeals" and the Great Seal of NorthCarolina and a number beginning with the number 1. The Chief Judge of the NorthCarolina Court of Appeals shall be issued a plate with the number 1 and the remainingplates shall be issued to the Associate Judges with the numbers assigned on thebasis of seniority.

Special plates issued toretired members of the Court of Appeals shall bear a number indicating themember's position of seniority at the time of retirement followed by the letter"X" to indicate the member's retired status.

(b)        Superior Court. – Aspecial plate issued to a resident superior court judge shall bear the letter"J" followed by a number indicative of the judicial district thejudge serves. The number issued to the senior resident superior court judgeshall be the numerical designation of the judge's judicial district, as definedin G.S. 7A‑41.1(a)(1). If a district has more than one regular residentsuperior court judge, a special plate for a resident superior court judge ofthat district shall bear the number issued to the senior resident superiorcourt judge followed by a hyphen and a letter of the alphabet beginning withthe letter "A" to indicate the judge's seniority.

For any grouping of districtshaving the same numerical designation, other than districts where there are twoor more resident superior court judges, the number issued to the seniorresident superior court judge shall be the number the districts in the set havein common. A special plate issued to the other regular resident superior courtjudges of the set of districts shall bear the number issued to the seniorresident superior court judge followed by a hyphen and a letter of the alphabetbeginning with the letter "A" to indicate the judge's seniority amongall of the regular resident superior court judges of the set of districts. Theletter assigned to a resident superior court judge will not necessarilycorrespond with the letter designation of the district the judge serves.

Where there are two or moreregular resident superior court judges for the district or set of districts,the registration plate with the letter "A" shall be issued to thejudge who, from among all the regular resident superior court judges of thedistrict or set of districts, has the most continuous service as a regularresident superior court judge; provided if two or more judges are of equalservice, the oldest of those judges shall receive the next letter registrationplate. Thereafter, registration plates shall be issued based on senioritywithin the district or set of districts.

A special judge, emergencyjudge, or retired judge of the superior court shall be issued a special platebearing the letter "J" followed by a number designated by theAdministrative Office of the Courts with the approval of the Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court of North Carolina. The plate for a retired judge shall havethe letter "X" after the designated number to indicate the judge'sretired status.

(c)        District Court. – Aspecial plate issued to a North Carolina district court judge shall bear theletter "J" followed by a number. For the chief judge of the districtcourt district, the number shall be equal to the sum of the numericaldesignation of the district court district the chief judge serves, plus 100.The number for all other judges of the district courts serving within the samedistrict court district shall be the same number as appears on the specialplate issued to the chief district judge followed by a letter of the alphabetbeginning with the letter "A" to indicate the judge's seniority. Aretired district court judge shall be issued a similar plate except that thenumerical designation shall be followed by the letter "X" to indicatethe judge's retired status.

(d)        United States. – Aspecial plate issued to a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, a Judgeof the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, or a District Judge of theUnited States District Court residing in North Carolina shall bear the words"U.S. J" followed by a number beginning with "1". Thenumber shall reflect the judge's seniority based on continuous service as aUnited States Judge as designated by the Secretary of State. A judge who hasretired or taken senior status shall be issued a similar plate except that thenumber shall be based on the date of the judge's retirement or assumption ofsenior status and shall follow the numerical designation of active justices andjudges. (1991, c. 672, s. 2; c. 726, s. 23; 1999‑403, s.5; 1999‑456, s. 67.1.)