Robert Coman Brickell (April 4, 1824 – November 20, 1900) was an associate 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 1873 to 1874, and chief justice from 1874 to 1884, and again from 1894 to 1898.

Biography

Born in

Tuscumbia, Alabama Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area. Tuscumbia was the hometown of Helen Keller, who lived at Iv ...

, and raised in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, Brickell's early education began in his father's print shop. He studied law under Judge Daniel Coleman to gain admission to the

Alabama State Bar The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama. The Alabama State Bar was established in 1923 and is governed by th1975 Alabama Code, Title 34, Chapter 3 It is the "licensing and regulatory age ...

at 19 and initiated his law practice in Athens, later moving to Huntsville in 1851. In 1873, he was appointed as an associate justice by Governor David P. Lewis and became Chief Justice in 1875. Brickell played a significant role in codifying Alabama laws, collaborating with P.J. Hamilton and J.P. Tillman. His judicial tenure as chief justice was intermittently punctuated by health issues. He contributed to the

Code of Alabama In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

(1886) and authored editions of "Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Alabama", commonly known as ''Brickell's Digest''. Brickell died on November 20, 1900, at the age of 86. Brickell's son, also named Robert Coman Brickell, served as

Attorney General of Alabama The Attorney General of Alabama is an elected, constitutional officer of the State of Alabama. The office of the Attorney General is located at the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Henry Hitchcock was elected Alabama's first attorney general ...

from 1911 to 1915, and was later a circuit judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brickell, Robert Coman 1824 births 1900 deaths People from Tuscumbia, Alabama U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Lawyers from Huntsville, Alabama Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama