Creating a Unified Court System: Judicial Reform in the 1960s

In this episode, we focus on the North Carolina judicial system reforms of the 1960s. These reforms created a unified court system that included newly created District Courts, Court of Appeals, and the Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC). In the interview, former NCAOC Director and Supreme Court of North Carolina Associate Justice Franklin Freeman interviews two men who helped implement these reforms: Judge James Dickson Phillips, Jr. and Senator Lindsay C. Warren, Jr.

"The effect of the implementation of the District Court was to abolish all of the courts beneath the Superior Courts – county courts, city courts, and the justice of the peace system," said Warren on the podcast. "The worst thing about the justice of the peace system was that their compensation came from fees they assessed, but in a criminal case they could not assess a fee unless a defendant was convicted."

This 2012 interview is part of CJCP's historical video series. A video of this interview can be viewed on the Judicial Branch YouTube Channel.