Alva Hugh Maddox (April 17, 1930 – December 11, 2020) was an American jurist who served as a justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is house ...

from 1969 to 2001.

Biography

Born in Covington County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, to parents Christopher Columbus and Audie L. (née Freeman) Maddox, he attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, graduating in 1952 and receiving his J.D. degree from its

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

in 1957. He served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and retired from the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

in 1982 as a colonel after 30 years of service. Maddox was admitted to the bar in 1957 and clerked for the

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals is one of two appellate courts in the Alabama judicial system. The court was established in 1969 when what had been one unitary state Court of Appeals was broken into a criminal appeals court and a civil appeals c ...

. The following year, he was a law clerk for the U.S. District Court of Alabama. In 1959, he started working as an attorney in Montgomery. From 1961 to 1963, he served as a circuit judge for the 15th Judicial Circuit, after which term he served as legal adviser to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

in 1965, Governor

Lurleen Wallace Lurleen Burns Wallace (born Lurleen Brigham Burns; September 19, 1926 – May 7, 1968) was the List of Governors of Alabama, 46th governor of Alabama for 15 months from January 1967 until her death. She was the first wife of Alabama governor Georg ...

in 1967, and Governor

Albert Brewer Albert Preston Brewer (October 26, 1928 – January 2, 2017) was an American politician who was the 47th governor of Alabama from 1968 to 1971. Early life Albert Preston Brewer was born on October 26, 1928, in Bethel Springs, Tennessee, Uni ...

in 1968. Brewer appointed Maddox as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama on September 23, 1969, to a newly created seat, and was sworn in on October 1, 1969. He served until his retirement as a senior associate justice on January 15, 2001. During his 31 years on the court, he wrote 1,650 majority opinions, and he is the longest-serving Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, having been elected five times following his appointment. He authored the treatise ''Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure'', which is featured in two scenes in the film ''

My Cousin Vinny ''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, and written by Dale Launer, who also produced with Paul Schiff. The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill, and ...

''. On June 14, 1958, he married Virginia Roberts, and they had two children. He died on December 11, 2020, in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddox, Alva Hugh Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama 1930 births 2020 deaths Alabama Democrats People from Covington County, Alabama University of Alabama alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges