The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
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 ...
. The court consists of a
chief justice and eight
associate justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
s. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is housed in the
Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building in downtown
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 ...
.
The
Governor of Alabama
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 r ...
may fill vacancies when they occur for the remainder of unexpired terms. The current partisan line-up for the court is all
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. There is no specific limitation on the number of terms to which a member may be elected. However, the
state constitution under Amendment 328, adopted in 1973, prohibits any member from seeking election once they have attained the age of seventy years. This amendment would have prohibited then Chief Justice
Roy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fro ...
from seeking re-election in 2018. However, on April 26, 2017, Moore announced his intent to run for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
seat formerly held by
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Jeff Sessions
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United State ...
, and resigned from the court.
The Clerk of Court is Julia Jordan Weller.
History
The Supreme Court of Alabama was organized under the
governorship
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 ...
of
William Wyatt Bibb
William Wyatt Bibb (October 2, 1781 – July 10, 1820) was a United States Senator from Georgia, the first governor of the Alabama Territory, and the first Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama.
Bibb was a member of the Democratic-Republican ...
, and had its beginnings with the
Alabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 2022 and is Alabama's seventh constitution.
History
Alabama has had seven constitutions to date, all but the current one est ...
of 1819, which stated that until the General Assembly deemed otherwise, the functions of the Supreme Court would be handled by the judges of the Alabama
circuit courts. The circuit judges were elected by a joint vote of both houses of the
Alabama Legislature
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...
. These judges met in May 1820 in the capital city of
Cahaba for the first term of the Supreme Court.
Clement Comer Clay
Clement Comer Clay (December 17, 1789 – September 6, 1866) was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837. An attorney, judge and politician, he also was elected to the state legislature, as well as to the House of Repr ...
was appointed by the other judges as the first
chief justice of the court. Following his resignation in 1823, he was succeeded by
Abner Smith Lipscomb.
The court was then reorganized in 1832. It then became a separate court with three justices elected to six-year terms. Abner Lipscomb remained as chief justice. In 1851 the number of justices was increased to five. In 1853 the membership of the court was reduced to three again.
By this time the court had its own chambers in the newly completed
Alabama State Capitol
The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National H ...
.
No changes to the court occurred during the years of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
The new state constitution of 1868, drafted during the
Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
, committed the election of the three justices to the people rather than the legislature. The number of justices was increased to four in 1889. In 1891, the number increased to five. Following the adoption of the 1901 constitution, the 1903 session of the legislature raised the number of justices to seven.
In 1940 the Supreme Court moved from the Capitol Building to 445 Dexter Avenue. The building had been built as a
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...
temple in 1926 but was sold to the state during the financially difficult years of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The state acquired and started a remodel of the building in 1938 for the relocation of the Judicial Department,
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
and State Law Library.
Legislative Act Number 602, 1969 Alabama Acts was passed during Regular Session of 1969. It increased the number of associate justices to eight, bringing the number of court justices to the configuration that remains today. Former Justice
Janie L. Shores was the first of six women to serve on the court. She was elected to the court in 1974. The first of three black justices to serve on the court was former Justice
Oscar W. Adams Jr., who in 1980 was initially appointed by then Governor
Fob James
Forrest Hood "Fob" James Jr. (born September 15, 1934) is an American civil engineer, entrepreneur, football player, and politician. He served as the 48th governor of Alabama, first as a Democrat, 1979–1983, and secondly as a Republican, 199 ...
to serve the remainder of an unexpired term. Justice Adams would become the first black justice elected to the court when he was elected two years later to serve a full six-year term.
The court moved to the new Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building at 300 Dexter Avenue in 1994.
Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court of Alabama has the authority to review decisions by all the lower courts of the state and the authority to determine certain legal matters over which no other court has jurisdiction. It further has the authority to issue any necessary orders to carry out the general superintendence of the Unified Judicial System of Alabama. It has exclusive jurisdiction over all appeals in disputes exceeding $50,000, as well as appeals from the
Alabama Public Service Commission.
The chief justice also serves as the administrative head of the Alabama Judicial System. The court makes all rules governing administration, practice, and procedure for all Alabama courts. The exercise of this authority eliminates technicalities which usually cause delays in trial courts and reversals in appellate courts.
Chief Justices
The Alabama Supreme Court has had an unusually high turnover in the chief justice position, going back to October 1995. Since then, the post has been occupied by eight different individuals for nine different time periods. Not one of these individuals has completed an entire term of six years.
Perry Hooper Sr., elected in 1994, did not assume the office until October, 1995, after a protracted election contest that prevented him from taking office until nine months into the term. He was succeeded by Roy Moore, who was elected in 2000 but removed from office due to violations of the judicial canon of ethics. Associate Justice Gorman Houston acted as temporary chief justice during Moore's suspension but before his actual removal from office. After Moore vacated the office, the Governor appointed Drayton Nabers Jr. Sue Bell Cobb defeated Chief Justice Nabers in 2006. Cobb resigned for personal reasons in the middle of her term. Her replacement, Chuck Malone was appointed on August 1, 2011, by Governor Robert Bentley but was defeated for re-nomination by former Chief Justice
Roy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fro ...
in 2012.
Moore assumed the office a second time beginning in January 2013, and was again suspended from office on May 6, 2016, by the Court of the Judiciary. Associate Justice Lyn Stuart became chief justice on April 26, 2017, when Moore formally resigned from the seat from which he was already suspended. Moore then sought election to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions for which a special election was held in December 2017. Stuart was appointed for the remainder of the term by Governor Kay Ivey on April 26, 2017. Chief Justice Stuart, who became the first female Republican chief justice, has been an associate justice of the court since 2001. She faced Associate Justice Tom Parker in the GOP primary in June 2018, and lost the primary to Parker in a relatively close race. Parker had previously lost a GOP primary for the post to Drayton Nabers in 2006.
In November 2018, Alabamians selected a new chief justice when Republican Tom Parker easily defeated Democrat Robert Vance. Justice Parker became the eighth different chief justice in only seventeen years when he assumed office on January 11, 2019. When Parker became chief justice, he vacated the associate justice seat he then held and Governor
Kay Ivey
Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38t ...
appointed outgoing Justice Mendheim to the seat. Chief Justice Parker is 67 years old and will not be constitutionally eligible to seek another term in 2024, thus resulting in another new chief justice in 2025.
List of all chief justices of Alabama Supreme Court:
#
Clement Claiborne Clay
Clement Claiborne Clay (December 13, 1816 – January 3, 1882), also known as C. C. Clay Jr., was a United States Senator (Democrat) from the state of Alabama from 1853 to 1861, and a Confederate States senator from Alabama from 1862 to 1864. Hi ...
#
Abner S. Lipscomb
#
Reuben Saffold
#
Henry Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock (September 11, 1792 – August 11, 1839) was the first Attorney General of Alabama, having been elected by the Alabama General Assembly in December 1819 in its initial session. He was also the Secretary of the Alabama Territor ...
(D)
#
Arthur F. Hopkins (D)
#
Henry W. Collier (D)
#
Edmund S. Dargan (D)
#
William P. Chilton (D)
#
George Goldthwaite (D)
#
Samuel F. Rice (D)
#
Abram J. Walker (D)
#
Elisha W. Peck (R)
#
Thomas Minott Peters
Thomas Minott Peters (December 4, 1810 – June 14, 1888) was an American lawyer, jurist, and botanist who studied the flora of the Southern United States.
Born in Clarksville, the county seat of Tennessee's Montgomery County, Peters was eigh ...
(R)
#
Robert C. Brickell (D)
#
George W. Stone (D)
#
Robert C. Brickell (D) (re-elected)
#
Samuel D. Weakley Jr. (D)
#
John R. Tyson
John Russell Tyson (November 28, 1856 – March 27, 1923) was an American lawyer, politician and judge. He served in the Alabama legislature before becoming a circuit judge, and later serving on the Alabama Supreme Court as associate just ...
(D)
#
James R. Dowdell (D)
#
John C. Anderson (D)
#
Lucien D. Gardner (D)
#
J. Ed Livingston (D)
#
Howell Heflin
Howell Thomas Heflin (June 19, 1921 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States Senate, representing Alabama, from 1979 to 1997.
Early life
Heflin was born on June 19, 1921, in Poulan, Georgia. He at ...
(D)
#
C.C. Torbert (D) (1977-1989)
#
Ernest C. Hornsby
Ernest C. Hornsby also known as Sonny Hornsby (born October 8, 1936) was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 1989 to 1995.
Biography
He was born on October 8, 1936, and he received his A.B. degree from Auburn University and his J. ...
(D) (1989-1995)
#
Perry O. Hooper Sr. (R) (1995–2001)
#
Roy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fro ...
(R) (2001–2003)
# Gorman Houston (R) (acting 2003–2004)
#
Drayton Nabers Jr.
Drayton Nabers Jr. (born December 2, 1940) is an American lawyer and former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in 2003 by Governor Bob Riley following Chief Justice Roy Moore's removal as a result of his refu ...
(R) (2004–2007)
#
Sue Bell Cobb (D) (2007–2011)
# Chuck Malone (R) (2011–2013)
#
Roy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fro ...
(R) (2013–2017)
#
Lyn Stuart (R) (acting 2016–2017; appointed 2017–2019)
#
Tom Parker (R) (2019–present)
Current Justices
Most of the members of the court initially came to their seats via election, with two exceptions:
* Justice Lyn Stuart's elevation to the chief justice position created a vacancy in the associate justice seat she held. That vacancy was filled by Governor
Kay Ivey
Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38t ...
on May 25, 2017, with the appointment of Justice William B. Sellers.
* Justice Tom Parker became chief justice on January 14, 2019, vacating the associate justice seat he held. On December 28, 2018, Governor Ivey appointed outgoing Justice Brady E. Mendheim Jr. to that seat, effective January 15, 2019.
Mendheim had previously been appointed by Ivey to replace Justice
Glenn Murdock, who resigned effective January 2018; Mendheim was defeated in the election to serve the remainder of that term.
Administrative Office of the Courts and State Marshals
The Administrative Office of the Courts is under the leadership of a director appointed by the chief justice of the Court. The Administrative Office of the Courts is responsible for a variety of functions including but not limited to the Juvenile Probation Offices for the Family Court System, Child Support Enforcement, Human Resources Division of the Court, and the Court Interpreter Registry. The current director, Rich Hobson, was appointed by Chief Justice
Tom Parker to the position in January, 2019. This is Hobson's third time in the position having previously served in the post from 2001 to 2003 and from 2013 to 2016.
[Brandon Moseley, Alabama Political Reporter, January 17, 2019.]
The State of Alabama marshals are responsible for protection of the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Court of Civil Appeals. They also serve subpoenas and court documents among other duties. The current marshal of the Alabama Appellate Courts is Earl Marsh, who was appointed in 2020.
See also
*
Courts of Alabama
Courts of Alabama include:
;State courts of Alabama
*Supreme Court of Alabama
**Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
**Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
***Alabama Circuit Courts (41 circuits)
*
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 ...
*
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
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 ...
Alabama state courts
Politics of Alabama
1819 establishments in Alabama
Courts and tribunals established in 1819