Cooper announces 2 Superior Court appointments

RALEIGH — Superior Court appointments by Gov. Roy Cooper filled seats on the bench on opposite sides of the state Wednesday.

Cooper tapped Tessa Sellers to a seat in Judicial District 43A, serving Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon and Swain counties, a news release from his office says. She will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William H. Coward.

When appointed, Sellers was serving as a District Court judge in the 43rd Judicial District. She previously served as an assistant district attorney in the 30th Prosecutorial District and as a general practitioner in private practice.

She earned a bachelor’s at Mars Hill College and her Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law.

In the second appointment, Cooper elevated Augustus Willis to the bench in Judicial District 4, serving Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joshua W. Willey, the release says.

Willis had been serving as an assistant district attorney for the same three counties and earlier worked as a staff attorney and legislative analyst for the General Assembly.

He earned his bachelor’s at East Carolina University and his Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

“Judge Tessa Sellers and Gus Willis bring a variety of legal expertise to the Superior Court, and they both have served North Carolina and their communities with distinction for many years,” the governor said in the release. “I appreciate their willingness to step up and keep working for the people of our state in these new roles.”