[1] On August 21, 1956, Governor Luther H. Hodges appointed Patton North Carolina Attorney General,[1] filling in a vacancy created by William B. Rodman Jr.'s departure.

He declared his opposition to the bill, saying race relations in North Carolina had worsened since the decision of the United States Supreme Court to integrate schools in Brown v. Board of Education in May 1954.

[4] In June he dismissed the head of the State Bureau of Investigation, Jimmy Powell, citing "morale conditions" in the agency.

[5] Patton resigned on March 25, 1958, to compete in the Democratic primary for the resident judgeship in the 30th Judicial District.

[9] He held the office for eight years, and then subsequently served as an emergency judge for the Superior Court until he died on July 2, 1987, at a hospital in Franklin.