The judicial power of the State of North Carolina is derived from Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution which establishes the Judicial Department as one of three equal branches of state government. The Constitution establishes the General Court of Justice which shall constitute a unified Judicial System for purposes of jurisdiction, operation, and administration, and shall consist of an Appellate Division, a Superior Court Division, and a District Court Division. The Appellate Division is composed of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals and both of these courts are located in Raleigh.
Appellate courts hear appeals in cases which have been previously tried in the trial courts.
No new evidence is presented and no witnesses are heard on the appeal of a case. The facts of the case have been determined at the trial, and all testimony and evidence are contained in the record which was made in the trial court and sent to the appellate court when the appeal was made. The appellate court makes its decision on the appeal based on a review of the record and the arguments of the attorneys for both sides. The decision is based solely on the evidence contained in the record and the law which pertains to the facts in the case. In some instances, District trial courts hear appeals from Magistrate or Small Caims Courts.