The Beaufort County jail situation continues to evoke strong opinions for and against its construction in Chocowinity. I am writing today in regard to the potential relocation of the Beaufort County Courthouse if the jail is built on the south side of the Pamlico River.

Although I do not possess a crystal ball, I must respectfully disagree with those “sucking sound” prognosticators that predict our courthouse will move to Chocowinity following construction of a new jail. According to an article written in 2011 by Norma Houston with the UNC School of Government, and citing NC law, our Beaufort County Board of Commissioners may relocate the courthouse anywhere within Beaufort County by a simple majority vote. Furthermore, the location of the courthouse determines the county seat, not the other way around. So in other words, if our commissioners voted to move the courthouse to Chocowinity, then they are in effect voting to move our county seat to Chocowinity.

Although no historian, I believe the courthouse has been located in downtown Washington since the late 1700s. Washington is the largest municipality in the county, and geographically speaking, is the closest to the center of the county. I’m sure all your readers know by now the jail is located in the basement of the courthouse. This building also houses the Clerk of Court, the Register of Deeds, five judges, a few probation officers, the magistrate’s office, and the DWI Intoxilizer room. There is one small courtroom on the first floor, and two more courtrooms and the grand jury room on the second floor. All kinds of business are transacted every day in this building, and it simply defies common sense that a majority of our commissioners would ever vote to relocate our courthouse, and thus our county seat, to Chocowinity, despite its growth in recent years.

So while arguments are being made against building a new jail in Chocowinity, claiming that the courthouse will soon follow should not be one of them.

Seth H. Edwards is a Washington native and District Attorney of North Carolina’s Second Judicial District.