State of North Carolina

08/21/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Governor Stein Announces District Court Appointments

Today Governor Josh Stein announced the following appointments to the District Court:

A. Michelle Lippert to the District Court for Judicial District 36, serving Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties. Lippert is filling the vacancy created after the Honorable Richard Holloway retired.

  • Since 2021, Lippert has worked as a managing partner at Beyer & Lippert, PLLC. She previously served for six years in the District Attorney's Office in Prosecutorial District 25. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

Christy Malott to the District Court for Judicial District 16, serving Durham County. Malott is filling the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Clayton Jones.

  • Malott serves as the senior assistant county attorney in the Durham County Attorney's Office. She worked for seven years in several capacities for the Durham Guardian ad Litem Program, first as a court-appointed GAL and most recently as a staff attorney. She also worked as a senior staff attorney at JusticeMatters for more than seven years. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and her Juris Doctor from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

"Michelle Lippert and Christy Malott are experienced attorneys who have dedicated themselves to the practice of the law," said Governor Josh Stein. "Their judgement and experience are invaluable, and I look forward to their service on the bench."

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