Access to and use of the North Carolina Judicial Branch Internet site are provided subject to these terms and conditions. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY AS USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Neither the State of North Carolina, the North Carolina Judicial Branch or any of its employees, shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone's use of the information. In no event shall the North Carolina Judicial Branch or its employees be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement or substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this system, even if advised of the possibility of such damage. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for breach of contract, tortious behavior, negligence or under any other cause of action.

Although the data found using the North Carolina Judicial Branch website has been produced and processed from various court and non-court sources, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. The North Carolina Judicial Branch provides this information on an "as is" basis. All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses and non-infringement of proprietary rights are disclaimed.

Changes may be made periodically to the information herein; these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new version of the publication. If you have obtained information from any of the North Carolina Judicial Branch web pages through a source other than the court system pages, be aware that electronic data can be altered subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out of date. It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the data or information be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them to the North Carolina Judicial Branch Webmaster.

The user expressly agrees that use of the North Carolina Judicial Branch website is at the user's sole risk. The court system does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents, including court calendars and publications, published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes may be made periodically to forms and documents on the site; these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new materials on the website. If you have obtained information from the North Carolina Judicial Branch through a source other than the court system, be aware that electronic data can be altered subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out-of-date. It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the data or information be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them to the North Carolina Judicial Branch Webmaster.

The North Carolina Judicial Branch is a distributor of content sometimes supplied by third parties and users. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, users, or others, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the North Carolina Judicial Branch and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State.

The North Carolina Judicial Branch is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages referenced. The user specifically acknowledges that the North Carolina Judicial Branch is not liable for the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user. Links from the North Carolina Judicial Branch web pages on the World Wide Web to other sites do not constitute an endorsement from the court system. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the web user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites. Since the North Carolina Judicial Branch is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.

When you link to another site, you are no longer on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another website, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restricted access the next, and the location of items may change as menus, homepages, and files are reorganized. The user expressly agrees that use of the North Carolina Judicial Branch website is at the user's sole risk. The court system does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents and related graphics published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. The North Carolina Judicial Branch may make improvements and/or changes in the information and/or programs described herein at any time.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the North Carolina Judicial Branch computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

The material on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website is for the noncommercial use of the general public. The fair use guidelines of the U.S. copyright statutes apply to all material on this website. The North Carolina Judicial Branch shall remain the sole and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interest in and to all copyrighted information created and posted for inclusion in this system. Photographs and graphics on the website are the property of the North Carolina Judicial Branch. For a copy or use of information on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website that is outside of the fair use provisions of copyright law, please seek permission from the individual listed as responsible for the page. If you have any questions on using material on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website, please email the North Carolina Judicial Branch Webmaster with requests for information or permission. If permission to reproduce or redistribute is granted, the following statement shall be included, "Reproduced with permission from the North Carolina Judicial Branch".

Links to the North Carolina Judicial Branch website are permissible, if the court system's Terms of Use are followed. However, we do ask that links point to the homepage (https://www.nccourts.gov) rather than to a specific page as those links may change.

The North Carolina Judicial Branch does not allow any spiders or data mining of the North Carolina Judicial Branch website that might affect performance of the site. Absolutely no batch processes are allowed to run against North Carolina Judicial Branch website data. The North Carolina Judicial Branch reserves the right to restrict the number of sessions from a specific IP address, restrict access from a specific IP address to the website if the IP is engaging in such activities, or take further action as needed.

Use of the North Carolina information technology system to send unsolicited faxes and email to North Carolina State Government and its employees is prohibited.

Construction of the disclaimers above and resolution of disputes thereof are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. The laws of the state of North Carolina shall apply to all uses of this data and this system. By use of this system and any data contained therein, the user agrees that use shall conform to all applicable laws and regulations and user shall not violate the rights of any third parties.

If you do nothing during your visit to the North Carolina Judicial Branch website but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet Protocol address and domain name used but not the email address. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you;
2. The type of browser and operating system you used and your connection speed;
3. The date and time you visited this site;
4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site; and
5. The website you visited prior to coming to this website.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. The North Carolina Judicial Branch web team analyzes our website logs to improve the value of the materials available on our site. Our website logs are not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link them with the individuals that browse the court system's website.

If during your visit to the North Carolina Judicial Branch website you participate in a survey or send an email, the following additional information will be collected:

1. Email correspondence: The email address and contents of the email;
2. Surveys: Any information you volunteered in response to a survey.

The information is retained in accordance with North Carolina public records law and retention and schedules. We use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the email to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information is used for the purpose designated.

"Personal information" is information about an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes personal identifiers such as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for information (i.e. sending an email or participating in a survey). If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the website.

If personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, this information may become public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by law.

Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children on-line or by email will be treated the same as information given by an adult and may be subject to public access.

If you choose to send email to the North Carolina Judicial Branch containing personally-identifying information, you should be aware that such communications are not secure and, in theory, could be viewed by anyone with access to the Internet.

In the State of North Carolina, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access certain public records. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

We strive to protect personally identifiable information by collecting only information necessary to deliver our services. All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

We strive to make the pages of this website accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. These pages also meet North Carolina Judicial Branch policy and guidelines for the Section 508 requirements. If you have difficulty viewing any page via adaptive technology, please email the North Carolina Judicial Branch Webmaster so we can make the information available to you.

What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a website's computers and may either be used only during your session (a "session" cookie) or may be stored on your computer's hard drive (a "persistent" cookie). Cookies can contain data about user movement during the visit to the website. If your browser software is set to allow cookies, a website can send its own cookie to you. A website that has set a cookie can only access those cookies it has sent to you, it cannot access cookies sent to you by other sites.

Why are Cookies Used on Websites?
Cookies are one mechanism for maintaining continuity during a user's visit to a website. They allow data to be maintained for users' benefit as they navigate a site. This is referred to as "session" or "state management" cookie. These cookies go away when you terminate your visit to the website as they are maintained only in your browser's active memory during your session. Cookies may be also be stored on your computer too so that you can be recognized by a website on subsequent visits. They can be read by the website that set them whenever you enter the website. They are often used on websites that require you to log in to save you entering all of your log-in information. They may store information on your unique identifier and the areas of the website you have visited before. These cookies are stored on your computer's hard drive after you have left your website visit and consequently are often referred to as "persistent" cookies.

Choices about Cookies
You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.)

North Carolina Judicial Branch Practices Regarding Cookies
The North Carolina Judicial Branch website uses only session cookies. The information on these cookies is retained by the site only while the user's session is active in a table that lists the unique identifiers of those currently using the site.

To offer comments about this website or to comment about the information presented in this notice, please contact the North Carolina Judicial Branch Webmaster.