RALEIGH – Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday announced that he has appointed N.C. State Rep. Darren Jackson to a seat on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Jackson fills the vacancy from Phil Berger Jr., who was elected to the N.C. Supreme Court last month.
Jackson has spent the past twelve years serving in the N.C. House, including two terms as the minority leader along with serving on the North Carolina Sentencing Commission and the North Carolina Courts Commission.
“Darren Jackson has spent his legal career fighting for a more fair and just North Carolina,” Gov. Cooper said. “His decades of experience as a lawyer and elected public servant have prepared him for the bench, and I’m grateful for his willingness to continue serving our state with honor.”
The outgoing state Rep., who resigned his seat in the General Assembly also on Wednesday, will be the only judge on the court to have previously served in the legislature.
Jackson practiced law with his firm, Gay, Jackson & McNally law firm for 24 years. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University School of Law.
A day earlier, on Tuesday, outgoing Chief Justice Cheri Beasley appointed Judge Donna Stroud to serve as the Court of Appeals’ chief judge. Stroud was first elected to the court in 2006 and was re-elected in 2014.
