N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Jim Wynn has been the subject of a federal background check, a sign that he may be nominated for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

The FBI has been conducting a background investigation of Wynn, questioning people around the court houses in Raleigh, Rob Christensen reports.

"I’ve been interviewed by the FBI who didn’t tell me for what," said federal Magistrate Judge William W. Webb. "I know the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington has been calling people about him."

Wynn was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and 2001 for the 4th Circuit but he was never confirmed by the Senate, largely because of opposition by then Sen. Jesse Helms.

President Barack Obama has not indicated who he would nominate. But Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan is pushing hard for another North Carolinian on the 4th Circuit and there has considerable speculation that Wynn is one of the candidates she is pushing.

He is also being championed by Congressman G.K. Butterfield, his former law partner, who is a close Obama ally.

The House voted Wednesday require political appointees to report their fundraising activities.

The bill, which had sponsors from both parties, expands who must report fundraising and also closes a loophole that applied to the reporting required of the Board of Transportation. Members of that board were previously required to list their activities, but some appointees under former Gov. Mike Easley used a legal opinion to hide their fundraising activities.

Board members, including former member Louis Sewell of Jacksonville, had said he did no fundraising even though he was a big fundraiser in Easley's 2000 campaign.

Easley had obtained an attorney general's opinion that said fundraisers did not have to disclose their efforts unless they personally accepted contributions from individuals. That meant that typical fundraising activities such as holding receptions and soliciting people for contributions were not considered fundraising.

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The appointment by former Gov. Mike Easley on his last day in office of two Raleigh lawyers to the Superior Court bench resulted in some unusual last-minute wrangling to get the incoming judges sworn in late Friday night.

Shannon Joseph and Bill R. Pittman took their oaths at 11 p.m. Friday night in a Wake County courtroom, in front of a crowd of more than 50 that gathered last-minute to watch the proceedings, Sarah Ovaska reports.

Joseph and Pittman’s appointments to special superior court bench will be good for the next five years. They’ll both have offices in the Wake County courthouse, but will preside over cases all over the state, depending on where they are needed.

Joseph, an administrative law judge for the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings, had been tied up in High Point that afternoon in a hearing and couldn’t make it back to Raleigh until after the end of the business day.

Wake Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens, who administered the oaths, was on his way to the ball held that evening for Beverly Perdue, who took office the next morning, when he was asked to administer judicial oaths to Pittman and Joseph before Perdue became governor the next day.

The 11 p.m. slot Friday night seemed to be the time everyone could make, Stephens said. It was open to the public, he said, but acknowledged that it'd be hard for the public to know about the ceremony.

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Beverly Perdue will name a transition team soon.

The governor-elect plans to name the staffers who will help her make decisions on appointments to state boards, commissions and her own Cabinet sometime this week.

Spokesman David Kochman said she'll be making some "pretty high profile" announcements soon.

The top 10 appointments are to the governor's cabinet, which includes secretaries of crime control, health and human services and commerce. The governor also appoints members of more than 400 state boards and commissions.

Kochman would not say whether Perdue plans to keep any members of Gov. Mike Easley's so-called "Iron Cabinet" — many of whom were first appointed in 2000 and have served continuously since.

"I think she's going to be looking for the best people regardless of where they come from," he said.

Perdue won't be able to make some appointments for a while. Many members of state boards serve on staggered terms that will not be open until well into her tenure.