Four judges who won statewide elections in 2020 (along with former state Rep. Darren Jackson who was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill the seat vacated by Justice Phil Berger Jr. when he won a seat on the Supreme Court) were sworn in to the state Court of Appeals at an investiture ceremony Thursday. It is the first time the appellate court (which has 15 judges in all) has welcomed so many new judges at the same time since its formation in 1967. The court, which normally sits in panels of three, hears on the order of 400 appeals of trial court rulings each year. For the four newly-elected judges, their seniority on the bench is determined by their age.