Gov. Cooper Fills Court Of Appeals Vacancies

Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed two people to fill vacancies on the state Court of Appeals.

One of them is state ACLU legal director Chris Brook.

In 2016, he came to Winston-Salem to argue in federal court for a group of transgender plaintiffs that HB 142 - a replacement bill for the state's so-called “bathroom bill” - continued discrimination against LGBT people.

"There's evidence in the record that students in the public school system have been told by their schools that HB 142 makes it illegal for them to utilize the restroom that accords with their gender identity," Brook said at the time in an interview with WFDD.

Cooper also appointed Chief Deputy Secretary for Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice Reuben Young to fill another vacancy.

Young joined Cooper's administration in late 2017 to take over the state's troubled prison system following the deaths of five workers in prison attacks earlier that year.

The seats became open when Cooper appointed Mark Davis to the state Supreme Court and Judge Bob Hunter retired.

Both seats will be on the November 2020 ballot.