Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election this spring will decide just one seat, but the contest already is shaping up as one of the most costly and contentious battles of the new year – with the control of the seven-member court and the fate of a 19th century abortion ban hanging in the balance.

A North Carolina Supreme Court decision has refused to accelerate further the appeals over an election for a seat on the court

The case will instead go to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, where Griffin currently sits as a judge. He told The N&O he won’t participate in his own case.