NC Supreme Court: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Court of Appeals Judge Allison Riggs to the North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday, filling the vacancy created by Justice Mike Morgan's resignation. The move makes Riggs, who is 42, the youngest woman ever to serve on the court, and she immediately confirmed that she'll run for a full eight-year term next year.
That could actually prove advantageous to Democrats (North Carolina is one of just nine states that holds partisan elections for its top court): Morgan was already slated to go before voters next year, but even had he won, he'd have hit the mandatory retirement age of 72 just three years into his term. Now, they'll be able to rally around a younger candidate with a history as a zealous advocate for voting rights and opponent of gerrymandering who could sit on the bench for many years to come—a crucial advantage, given the multi-year campaign Democrats will have to wage to regain a majority on the court.
Riggs' appointment is her second in less than a year. In December, Cooper named her to a spot on the Court of Appeals after Richard Dietz won a seat on the Supreme Court the previous month. (Dietz's victory was one of two by Republicans that allowed them to flip the court last year.) To fill Riggs' slot, Cooper simultaneously tapped former Judge Carolyn Thompson, who will be the only Black woman on the appeals court. Republicans hold 11 of the 15 seats on the court, where cases are heard by rotating three-judge panels. Like races for the Supreme Court, elections for the Court of Appeals are also statewide.