Tom Parker (judge)
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Tom Parker (born August 19, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge. He is the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court winning election in November 2018. He previously served as an associate justice on the court having been elected to that position in 2004 and re-elected in 2010.


Education

Parker graduated from
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
and
Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
.Melissa Brown
Alabama Chief Justice candidate Tom Parker: 'I know what we need'
''Montgomery Advertiser'' (October 15, 2018).
He studied at the Law School, University of São Paulo in Brazil as a Rotary International fellow.Kent Faulk
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker seeks third term
AL.com (February 25, 2016).


Career

In 1989, Parker became the founding executive director of the Alabama Family Alliance (later renamed the Alabama Policy Institute), a conservative
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
. At other points in his career, Parker was an Alabama assistant attorney general, deputy administrative director of Alabama courts; general counsel for Alabama trial courts; and director of the Alabama Judicial College.Ivana Hrynkiw
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice race: Meet Bob Vance, Tom Parker
AL.com (October 25, 2018); Paul Leblanc
Alabama Republican's Pick for Roy Moore's Old job is a Lot Like Roy Moore
, ''Newsweek'' (June 8, 2018)
Parker defeated Robert H. Smith to become an associate justice on the Alabama Supreme Court in 2004 and was sworn in on January 14, 2005. He unsuccessfully ran for chief justice in 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. Parker successfully sought a third term as associate justice in 2016. On June 5, 2018, Parker won the Republican nomination for Chief Justice over incumbent Chief Justice Lyn Stuart, although seven current and former Alabama Supreme Court justices publicly supported Stuart over Parker in the primary, two of whom - despite being republicans - would contribute to Parker's Democratic opponent in the general election. Parker went on to defeat the Democratic nominee, Circuit Judge Bob Vance, in the general election on November 6, 2018. The campaign was marked by negative
television advertising A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
in which Parker's campaign ran ads accusing Vance (who was supported by a moderate coalition) of being backed by "leftist billionaires" and in which Vance's campaign ran ads saying that Parker was "another Roy Moore" who would bring more "chaos and controversy" to Alabama. It was also notable for the significant support Parker received from the trial lawyers via the Progress for Justice PAC. He was sworn in as Chief Justice of Alabama on January 11, 2019. Parker currently sits on the Board of Jurists at th
Blackstone and Burke Center for Law and Liberty
at Faulkner University. On
Indigenous Peoples' Day Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an ...
in 2022 Parker sent a letter of apology to the Echota Cherokee Tribe on behalf of the past actions against their people during the times of removal.


Controversies


Alleged support of white supremacist groups

As a candidate in 2004, he was criticized by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
for distributing confederate flags at a funeral of a confederate widow. Parker was photographed at the funeral standing between Leonard Wilson, a board member of the
Council of Conservative Citizens The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC or CCC) is an American white supremacist organization. Founded in 1985, it advocates white nationalism, and supports some paleoconservative causes. In the organization's statement of principles, it st ...
, and Mike Whorton, a leader with the League of the South. He denied being a member of either group and said he did not consider his actions in either event inappropriate for a judicial candidate. Parker was also criticized for attending a party in Selma commemorating the birthday of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, founder of the Ku Klux Klan. The party was hosted at "Fort Dixie" by Pat and Butch Godwin, operator of Friends of Forrest Inc. and also involved with the League of the South.


Editorial criticizing fellow justices

In 2006, Parker wrote an op-ed, published in ''
The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its tw ...
'', in which he criticized his colleagues on the state supreme court for a ruling the previous year in which the court reversed a death sentence for a 17-year-old convicted of murder, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in '' Roper v. Simmons''. In the op-ed, Parker criticized the ''Roper'' decision as "blatant judicial tyranny" and asserted that "State supreme courts may decline to follow bad U.S. Supreme Court precedents because those decisions bind only the parties to the particular case."Alabama revisits issue of federal vs. state power
Associated Press (May 31, 2006).
The claim was criticized by legal experts (as well as Alabama Chief Justice
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 ...
, whom Parker was then running against) because it contravenes the accepted principle of American jurisprudence that the U.S. Supreme Court has ultimate authority on matters of federal law. Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor criticized Parker's op-ed in a ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' commentary, writing that it was an inappropriate attack on fellow judges and was at odds with the Constitution's
Supremacy Clause The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and thu ...
.


Criticized for low productivity as an associate justice

Justice Tom Woodall, then running for his second term as an associate supreme court justice, criticized Parker as a candidate for chief justice in 2006. Woodhall characterized Parker's views as extreme, called Parker's op-ed criticizing his colleagues "cowardly and deceitful" and said that Parker "doesn't handle his cases; he just let's them pile up." Parker had the lowest productivity compared to the state's other new justices, writing only one opinion in his first fifteen months compared to 38 by Mike Bolin and 28 by Patricia Smith. Parker attributed slowness to the fact that he had no experience as a judge and because he had to hire new staff members.


Positions

A longtime ally and former aide of
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 fr ...
, whose candidacy for United States Senate was derailed following multiple allegations of romantically pursuing teenagers while an adult, he is known for his conservative views. He strongly opposes ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' (calling it a "constitutional aberration") and has written a number of anti-abortion judicial opinions. Parker opposes
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and has criticized the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''
Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...
''.


Notable Cases


Personal life

Parker lives in Montgomery County and is married.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Tom 1951 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Alabama Republicans Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Dartmouth College alumni missing graduation year Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Lawyers from Montgomery, Alabama Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Vanderbilt University Law School alumni