Alabama Supreme Court

Alabama Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 9
Founded: 1819
Location: Montgomery
Salary
Chief: $161-201k Associates: $160-200k
Judicial Selection
Method: Partisan elections
Term: 6 years
Active justices
Brad Mendheim Greg Shaw Jay Mitchell Kelli Wise Michael Bolin Sarah Stewart Tom Parker (Alabama) Tommy Bryan William Sellers

Founded in 1819, the Alabama Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort. The chief justice of the court is Tom Parker. The court has the authority to review decisions reached by the lower courts and may also review matters of contention where the dollar amount in question exceeds $50,000, as long as no other Alabama court has jurisdiction. The court consists of nine justices: eight associate justices and one chief justice.^[1] The supreme court was established by Article VI of the Alabama Constitution, Section 139.

As of August 2021, all nine judges on the court were either elected in partisan elections as a Republican or appointed by a Republican governor. Sue Bell Cobb, who retired in 2011, was the last Democrat to sit on the court.^[2][3]

The Alabama Supreme Court meets in the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building in Montgomery, Alabama.^[4]

In Alabama, state supreme court justices are elected in partisan elections. As of November 18, 2021, there are seven states that use this selection method. To read more about the partisan election of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction[edit]

The supreme court has jurisdiction to review the decisions reached by lower courts within the state. It is also authorized to review matters of contention where the dollar amount in question exceeds $50,000 (if no other Alabama court has jurisdiction) and to review cases over which no other state court has jurisdiction. The court also hears appeals from the Alabama Public Service Commission. The supreme court has a supervisory role over the other courts in the state and is charged with making rules governing administration, practice, and procedure in all courts.^[1]

The following text from Article IV, Section 140 of the Alabama Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

Justices[edit]

The table below lists the current judges of the Alabama Supreme Court and the appointing governor.

The justices of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2019

Judicial selection[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in Alabama

The nine justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are selected through partisan elections for six-year terms. They appear on partisan election ballots statewide and face re-election if they wish to serve again.^[6] For more information about these elections, visit the Alabama judicial elections page.

Qualifications[edit]

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law for at least 10 years;
• a state resident for at least one year;
• under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their terms expire).^[6][7]

Chief justice[edit]

The chief justice of the court is selected by popular vote, serving in that office for his or her full six-year term.^[6]

Vacancies[edit]

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

Should a vacancy occur between regularly scheduled elections, which take place in November of even-numbered years, an interim justice is appointed by the governor. Any justice appointed in this fashion must then stand for election in the next general election occurring at least one year after taking office.^[6]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections and appointments[edit]

In Alabama, judges are elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Any vacancies are filled through appointments by the governor.

2020[edit]

See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2020

The terms of two Alabama Supreme Court justices expired on January 18, 2021. The two seats were up for partisan election on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020. Incumbents Greg Shaw (R) and Brad Mendheim (R) won.

Judges with expiring terms[edit]

Place 1[edit]

General election candidates

• Greg Shaw  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔

 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

• Greg Shaw (Incumbent) ✔
• Cam Ward

Place 2[edit]

General election candidates

• Brad Mendheim  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔

 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:

• Brad Mendheim (Incumbent) ✔

Note: Because incumbent Brad Mendheim was the only candidate to file for election, the primaries were canceled and he automatically advanced to the general election.

2018[edit]

See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2018

The terms of five Alabama Supreme Court justices expired on January 13, 2019. These justices stood for election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench. The primary election took place on June 5, 2018, and the general election took place on November 6, 2018.

In January 2018, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) appointed Brad Mendheim (R) to the court to replace former Justice Glenn Murdock (R), who retired.^[8]

2017[edit]

In May 2017, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) appointed William Sellers (R) to the court to replace Lyn Stuart (R), who was named chief justice in April 2017.^[9] Sellers was elected to a full six-year term on November 6, 2018.

2016[edit]

See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2016

Three seats on the Alabama Supreme Court were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. A primary was held on March 1.

Justice Kelli Wise (R), Justice Michael Bolin (R), and Justice Tom Parker (R) held the seats heading into the election. All nine seats on the court were held by Republicans prior to the election. Each justice elected to the court serves a six-year term.

Only Place 3, held by Tom Parker, was contested in the 2016 election cycle. This was a primary challenge between two Republicans; the seat was not contested in the general election.

General election candidates[edit]

Place 1[edit]

■ Kelli Wise (R) (Incumbent/Unopposed)

Place 2[edit]

■ Michael Bolin (R) (Incumbent/Unopposed)

Place 3[edit]

■ Tom Parker (R) (Incumbent/Unopposed)

Election results[edit]

November 8 general election[edit]

Incumbent Michael Bolin ran unopposed in the general election for the Alabama Supreme Court, Place 1.

Alabama Supreme Court, Place 1, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Michael Bolin Incumbent (unopposed)

Incumbent Kelli Wise ran unopposed in the general election for the Alabama Supreme Court, Place 2.

Alabama Supreme Court, Place 2, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Kelli Wise Incumbent (unopposed)

Incumbent Tom Parker ran unopposed in the general election for the Alabama Supreme Court, Place 3.

Alabama Supreme Court, Place 3, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Tom Parker Incumbent (unopposed)

March 1 primary election[edit]

Alabama Supreme Court, Place 3, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Parker Incumbent	72.50%	448,747
	Republican	Donna Beaulieu	27.50%	170,194
Total Votes (100% Reporting)				618,941
Source: Alabama Secretary of State Certified Results

• Election history, 2002-2014 (click to expand)

  2014[edit]

  See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2014

  Unopposed	Judge Greg Shaw (Seat 1)

  2012[edit]

  See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2012

  Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
  GraddickCharles Graddick	No	Republican	Chief Justice	25.5%
  MaloneCharles Malone (Alabama)	Yes	Republican		24.5%
  JonesDebra H. Jones	No	Republican	Place 1	34.8%
  PoynterGinger Poynter	No	Independent		n/a	A
  MurdockGlenn Murdock   A	Yes	Republican			98.16%   A
  LyonHarry Lyon	No	Democratic	Chief Justice		A
  MainJames Allen Main   A	Yes	Republican	Place 4		98.13%   A
  StuartLyn Stuart   A	Yes	Republican			98.13%   A
  MaddoxMelinda Lee Maddox	No	Independent	Chief Justice	n/a	A
  VanceRobert S. Vance	No	Democratic	Place 21		48.23%   A
  Roy Moore
  BryanTommy Bryan   A	No	Republican		65.1%A	98.07%   A

  2010[edit]

  In 2010, two incumbents were re-elected to the Alabama Supreme Court. Kelli Wise was elected to the seat vacated by Justice Patricia Smith.^[10]

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Kelli Wise A	No	Place 1	Republican	912,254	62.9%
  Rhonda Chambers	No	Place 1	Democratic	537,112	37%

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Michael Bolin A	Yes	Place 2	Republican	907,029	62.7%
  Tracy W. Cary	No	Place 2	Republican

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Tom Parker A	Yes	Place 3	Republican	849,106	58.9%
  Mac Parsons	No	Place 3	Democratic	591,133	41%
  James R. Houts	No	Place 3	Republican
  Eric Johnston	No	Place 3	Republican

  2008[edit]

  Harold See retired from the court, leaving an open seat.^[11]

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Greg Shaw A	No		Republican	1,021,371	50.3%
  Deborah Bell Paseur	No		Democratic	1,008,479	49.6%

  2006[edit]

  Democrat Sue Bell Cobb was elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, defeating appointed Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, Jr. Glenn Murdock was also elected to the court in 2006, defeating incumbent Justice Jean Brown.

  Incumbent Justices Thomas Woodall and Lyn Stuart were re-elected in 2006, after each fending off primary and general election challenges. Justice Champ Lyons was re-elected after running unopposed in the general election.^[12]

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Sue Bell Cobb A	No	Chief Justice	Democratic	634,494	51.5%
  Drayton Nabers, Jr.	Yes	Chief Justice	Republican	596,237	48.4%
  Tom Parker	No	Chief Justice	Republican

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Champ Lyons A	Yes	Place 1	Republican	60.3%	220,886
  Ben Hand	No	Place 1	Republican	39.6%	145,105

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Thomas Woodall A	Yes	Place 2	Republican	253,732	71.6%	665,610	56.7%
  Gwendolyn Thomas Kennedy	No	Place 2	Democratic			506,691	43.2%
  Hank Fowler	No	Place 2	Republican	28.3%	100,565

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Lyn Stuart A	Yes	Place 3	Republican	267,201	71.7%	680,103	57.8%
  Albert Johnson	No	Place 3	Democratic			495,846	42.1%
  Alan Zeigler	No	Place 3	Republican	28.2%	105,288

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Glenn Murdock A	No	Place 4	Republican	219,594	61.1%	651,057	54.9%
  John England	No	Place 4	Democratic			532,837	45%
  Tracy Gwyn BirdSong	No	Place 4	Republican	44,262	12.3%	6
  Jean Brown	Yes	Place 4	Republican	95,287	26.5%

  2004[edit]

  Republicans Tom Parker, Patricia Smith and Michael Bolin were all elected to the court after facing challenges in Republican primaries and the general election. ^[13]

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Tom Parker A	No	Place 1	Republican	107,325	50.9%	986,530	55.8%
  Robert H. Smith	No	Place 1	Democratic			781,197	44.1%
  Jean Brown	Yes	Place 1	Republican	103,241	49%

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Patricia Smith A	No	Place 2	Republican	1,070,789	59.9%
  Roger M. Monroe	No	Place 2	Democratic	716,691	40%
  Pam Baschab	No	Place 2	Republican

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Primary votes	Primary %	Election votes	Election %
  Michael Bolin A	No	Place 3	Republican	99,964	49.9%	1,056,642	59.7%
  John E. Rochester	No	Place 3	Democratic			712,569	40.2%
  Peggy Givhan	No	Place 3	Republican	34,328	17.1%
  (No first name given) Holloway	No	Place 3	Republican	13,913	6.9%

  2002[edit]

  Harold See was re-elected to the court in 2002.^[14]

  Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
  Harold See A	Yes		Republican	676,539	51.4%
  James H. Anderson	No		Democratic	609,490	46.3%
  Tom Bear	No		Libertarian	29,247	2.2%

Caseloads[edit]

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.

Analysis[edit]

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

• We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
• We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
• We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
• We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020[edit]

• Number of justices: 9
• Number of cases: 692
• Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 83.4% (577)
• Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Mitchell (90)
• Per curiam decisions: 21
• Concurring opinions: 44
• Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Mendheim (9)
• Dissenting opinions: 33
• Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Shaw (10)

For the study's full set of findings in Alabama, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

• Strong Democrat
• Mild Democrat
• Indeterminate^[15]
• Mild Republican
• Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.^[16]

Alabama had a Court Balance Score of 11.89, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)[edit]

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Alabama was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Alabama received a score of 0.79. Based on the justices selected, Alabama was the 4th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.^[17]

Noteworthy cases[edit]

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the Alabama Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

Ethics[edit]

Judges in Alabama must follow the state's Canons of Judicial Ethics. The canons govern the judges' professional conduct.^[28]

• Canon 1 - A judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
• Canon 2 - A judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities.
• Canon 3 - A judge should perform the duties of his office impartially and diligently.
• Canon 4 - A judge may engage in activities to improve the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.
• Canon 5 - A judge should regulate his extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with his judicial duties.
• Canon 6 - A judge should regularly file reports of his financial interests.
• Canon 7 - A judge or a judicial candidate shall refrain from political activity inappropriate to judicial office.

Removal of judges[edit]

In Alabama, judges may be removed in one of two ways:

• By the Court of the Judiciary upon a complaint filed by the Judicial Inquiry Commission.^[28]
• A judge may be impeached.^[29]

Judicial Inquiry Commission[edit]

If a canon of judicial conduct is broken, or a complaint is made suggesting that a canon was not followed, the Judicial Inquiry Commission is charged with investigating. The commission is made up of nine members. If a majority of the members feel there is a "reasonable basis" for finding that a judge has committed professional misconduct or some wrongdoing, then the commission may file a complaint with the Court of the Judiciary, which will hear the matter.^[28]

Court of the Judiciary[edit]

This court hears complaints from the Judicial Inquiry Commission against judges. It is composed of nine members. One intermediate appellate court judge, two circuit court judges selected by the Circuit Judges' Association, one district court judge selected by the District Judges' Association, two members of the state bar selected by the bar's governing body and three non-lawyers appointed by the Alabama. The appointments made by the governor must be confirmed by the Alabama State Senate.

After the court investigates the complaint and holds a public hearing, the court has the ability to:

History of the court[edit]

Alabama Supreme Court building in Montgomery, Alabama

The 1819 Constitution of Alabama, in which the state was admitted to the Union, allowed the powers of the supreme court to be vested in several circuit courts and judges. From 1819 until the Reconstruction Constitution in 1868, judges were elected by both houses of the General Assembly. In 1832, the supreme court was revised as a separate entity from the lower courts.

In the wake of the Civil War, and as part of Reconstruction measures, a partisan election system was implemented.

Notable firsts[edit]

• Former Justice Janie Shores was the first woman to serve on the court. She was elected as a Democrat in 1974. With this election, she was also the first woman elected as a judge of an appellate court in the country.^[31]
• Former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb was the first woman elected to the position of chief justice in the state of Alabama.
• Justice Oscar William Adams, Jr. was the first African-American to serve on the court. He was appointed by Governor Fob Jones in 1980.^[2]

Former chief justices[edit]

Courts in Alabama[edit]

See also: Courts in Alabama

In addition to the federal courts in Alabama, there are three types of appellate courts, one general jurisdiction trial court, and five types of limited jurisdiction trial courts. Their infrastructure and relationship are illustrated in the flow chart below.

The structure of Alabama's state court system.

Party control of Alabama state government[edit]

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Alabama has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

See also[edit]

Alabama	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Alabama Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Alabama Supreme Court	Elections: 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Alabama	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links[edit]

• Alabama Judicial System
• Alabama Bar Association

Footnotes[edit]

v • e Alabama Supreme Court Judicial selection in Alabama • 2022 elections • 2020 elections • Noteworthy cases • Courts in Alabama
Current	Chief Justice: Tom Parker (Alabama)   •  Michael Bolin  •  Greg Shaw  •  Kelli Wise  •  Tommy Bryan  •  Sarah Stewart  •  Brad Mendheim  •  William Sellers  •  Jay Mitchell
Former	Sue Bell Cobb  •  Drayton Nabers, Jr.  •  Perry Hooper  •  Harold See  •  Champ Lyons  •  Thomas Woodall (Alabama)  •  Lyn Stuart  •  Patricia Smith (Alabama)  •  Glenn Murdock  •  Ernest C. Hornsby  •  C. C. Torbert, Jr.  •  Howell Heflin  •  Richard Wilde Walker  •  Charles Malone (Alabama)  •  John England  •  James Allen Main  •  Roy Moore  •  John C. Anderson (Alabama)  •