The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the uncertified race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court

Monday’s arguments focused on whether the case should be decided by state or federal courts — a decision which could be crucial in whether the results of the race are ultimately overturned.

Experts believe Griffin wants to only have the case be argued at the state level, as the State Supreme Court has a 5-1 conservative majority.

In a pivotal hearing in the North Carolina Supreme Court elections case, the lawyer representing the state Board of Elections faced a barrage of questions from a federal court of appeals judge about the appropriateness of calling back to federal court a case that the state Supreme Court had acted on.

A federal appeals panel argued with lawyers over the still-unresolved election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat.

Three judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, heard, among others, from attorneys for Democratic Justice Allison Riggs, trailing Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin and the State Board of Elections,