Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.

– Doc Brown, “Back To The Future”

On Monday, Governor Cooper elevated Judge Allison Riggs from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, Judge Riggs and her appellate colleagues issued 24 opinions outside of the normal schedule. And now we hear that Justice Riggs will join her new Supreme Court colleagues on the oral argument bench today.

Great Scott! Where’s the flux capacitor? In all seriousness, congratulations to Justice Allison Riggs on her elevation.

Cooper also appointed Carolyn Jennings Thompson to replace Riggs at the Court of Appeals. Judge Thompson is currently a Deputy Commissioner on the North Carolina Industrial Commission, She previously served as a district and superior court judge for the 9th District (i.e., counties of Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance, and Warren).

Meanwhile, Riggs’s predecessor, Justice Mike Morgan, announced on Tuesday that he will be challenging Attorney General Stein for the Democratic chance to replace Governor Cooper. Cooper (and numerous others) endorsed Stein last week. Will Justice Morgan’s entry in the race shake things up?

And if my calculations are correct, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin and Justice Riggs will be running for the same Supreme Court seat. Depending on how that election shakes out, Cooper’s replacement could be looking at resumes for a Court of Appeals appointment in January 2025.

Lots of shakeups when it’s only September 2023. “Who’s Vice President? Jerry Lewis?”