The 6A district is Halifax County while 6B comprises Bertie, Hertford and Northampton counties.

“Beginning January 1, 2015, both judicial districts … will be merged into one judicial district 6 as provided for by the legislature in 2013,” Halifax County Chief District Court Judge Brenda G. Branch said in a statement.

Because of this legislation, Branch and 6B Chief District Court Judge W. Rob Lewis II “have begun a series of meetings that have included several different agencies within these two districts to begin discussions and plans to develop a schedule that will merge the district courts.”

The first meeting included representatives from the clerk of court offices, law enforcement, bar associations, social services and child support attorneys.

The meetings, Branch said in an interview today, are designed to address a myriad of concerns that not only include scheduling, but whether backlogs will be created by the merger, the future of special courts like DWI and family courts, as well as discussions on the number of assistant district attorneys needed to cover courts and the signing off of search warrants.

The new configuration, which does not affect superior court judges, will mean a total of four district court judges for the four-county district. At present, there are three district court judges in each of the districts.

Ideally, Branch and Lewis would like to have a plan in place by October. The idea is to share this plan with the state Highway Patrol, magistrates, the district attorney, child support and others affected by the merger.