Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed Court of Appeals Judge Allison Riggs to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.
The high court has an empty seat after Justice Mike Morgan, a Democrat, resigned before his term ends next year. He’s considering a run for another office.
Cooper picked Riggs, who’s also a Democrat, to finish the term. She’ll also run for a full eight-year term next year. She had been running to keep her Court of Appeals seat, where Cooper appointed her to a vacancy earlier this year.
The governor noted the high-profile issues before the high court.
“The U.S. Supreme Court already has put important issues into the hands of state governments, and it looks like more will come,” Cooper said. “And it's more important than ever who sits on our state's highest appellate courts. The need for fair-minded, even-handed, honest, experienced judges is more important than ever, as our society and our courts wrestle with these critical issues.”
Riggs is best known for her work as a leading attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a group that frequently sues to block laws passed by the Republican legislature.
Riggs said she’s honored to become the youngest woman ever to serve on the state’s highest court.
“In polarized times, interpreting and applying the law, without fear or favor, and with a steady hand is more important than ever,” Riggs said at a news conference Monday. “I'm going to continue to communicate with North Carolinians about my values and my background, as an experienced civil rights attorney, as someone who has seen the ways in which the justice system has not always worked for everyone, and someone who at core recognizes the importance of our courts."
Riggs won’t be the only Democrat seeking the Supreme Court seat next year. Superior Court Judge Lora Cubbage announced over the weekend that she’ll run for the office. The Greensboro resident ran unsuccessfully for N.C. Court of Appeals in 2020. The winner of the Democratic primary could face Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who's running on the Republican side.
Cooper also named Judge Carolyn Thompson to fill Riggs’ current seat on the appeals court.
She is a deputy commissioner on the N.C. Industrial Commission who ran unsuccessfully for another Court of Appeals seat last year, and she had previously served as a District Court and Superior Court judge. Thompson said Monday that she'll run for a full term next year.
Cooper’s appointment comes in the wake of news that Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls is under investigation by the state’s Judicial Standard Commission. The probe was prompted in part by Earls pointing out a lack of diversity in the judicial branch; she also claimed that she has seen female attorneys treated with less respect during oral arguments.
Earls and Riggs previously worked together at the Social Coalition for Social Justice. Earls is suing to block the commission’s investigation, arguing it’s a violation of her First Amendment free speech rights.
When asked on Monday about the case, Cooper said, “I think that it's important that our courts are diverse and serve without bias. And I think that judicial rules should apply fairly to all judges.”
