April 22, 2026
Athena Fox Brooks Courtesy UNC-Asheville
Governor Josh Stein has announced Athena Fox Brooks will serve the remainder of the Superior Court term in Judicial District 42, which serves Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania counties, following the retirement of Judge Peter Knight in October.
“Judge Brooks’ extensive legal experience and dedication to serving her community have made her well prepared for this appointment,” Stein said in a news release. “I look forward to her service on the bench.”
Brookshas served for more than 18 years in the North Carolina Judicial Branch: first as a district court judge, then as chief district court judge, and finally as a special Superior Court judge.
Since 2023, she has worked as a managing attorney at Carr, Blackwell & Associates, P.C. and served on the NC Board of Law Examiners. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.
Brooks is expected to serve in Superior Court until early December when the winner of the November election for Knight’s vacant seat will be sworn in. In March, a committee of Republican Party leaders from Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania counties chose District Court Judge Gene Johnson as their nominee for the seat. Democratic Party leaders have not yet announced their party’s nominee.