Gov. Doug Ducey recently made two appointments to the state’s Court of Appeals Division One, which fills the seats left vacant by two retiring judges.

Ducey appointed Assistant Solicitor General Jennifer Perkins and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Morse to the court.

Perkins, began her legal career at Browning & Peifer in New Mexico and served as a law clerk for the Honorable James O. Browning in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. She received her law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2002.

“Jennifer has devoted her professional career to defending constitutional principles and upholding the highest standards of ethics in the legal community,” Ducey said in a press release.

Morse, who received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, is an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He began his legal career in 1999 working in private practice and has served as a law clerk for Judge James Teilborg of the U.S. District Court in Arizona and as assistant bureau chief for the Drug Enforcement Bureau with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

“Jim has demonstrated a commitment to pursuing justice and upholding the rule of law,” Ducey said in a statement.

Perkins and Morse will fill the two positions left open by retiring judges Donn Kessler and Patricia Norris.