North Carolina General Statutes 120-10.8. Referral to committee
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 120-10.8
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(a) Referral. – The clerk shall refer the notice, answer, petition, reply, depositions, and affidavits to the committee, which documents shall constitute part of the record in the contest. The committee shall hear the contest and conduct such investigation as has been directed by resolution of its house.
(b) Procedure. – The committee shall set a schedule for taking depositions and receiving affidavits. The committee may consider the contestant’s and contestee’s recommendations for the procedural schedule. The committee may hold hearings and may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in its inquiry in accordance with Article 5A of this Chapter. The committee may accept the filing of briefs. The committee may order the recount of the ballots in the election and may seek and obtain the assistance of the State Board of Elections in the interpretation and counting of ballots.
(c) Compel Discovery. – No witness in a contest shall be excused from discovering whether the witness voted in the election that is the subject of the contest or the witness’s qualification to vote, except as to the witness’s conviction for any offense which would disqualify the witness from voting. If the witness was not a qualified voter, the witness shall be compelled to discover for whom the witness voted; but any witness making such discovery shall not be subject to criminal or penal prosecution for having voted in the election.
(d) Report. – The committee shall report its findings as to the law and the facts and make recommendations to the house for its action. (2005-3, s. 2; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 6.1.)