Article 80, § 7 — District Courts

(A) District Courts are established as the trial courts of limited jurisdiction as to amount and subject matter, subject to the right of appeal to Circuit Courts for a trial de novo. (B) The jurisdictional amount and the subject matter of civil cases that may be heard in the District Courts shall be established by Supreme Court rule. District Courts shall have original jurisdiction, concurrent with Circuit Courts, of misdemeanors, and shall also have such other criminal jurisdiction as may be provided pursuant to Section 10 of this Amendment. (C) There shall be at least one District Court in each county. If there is only one District Court in a county, it shall have county-wide jurisdiction. Fines and penalties received by the district court shall continue to be distributed in the manner provided by current law, unless and until the General Assembly shall establish a new method of distribution. (D) A District Judge may serve in one or more counties. Subject to the superintending control of the Supreme Court, the Judges of a District Court may divide that District Court into subject matter divisions, and any District Judge within the district may sit in any division. (E) District Judges may temporarily exchange districts by joint order. Any District Judge who consents may be assigned to another district for temporary service under rules adopted by the Supreme Court.