Having served as a prosecutor, defense attorney and judge, I understand all sides of criminal law related issues.

Knowledge, integrity and patience.

Appellate judges should follow the law as written and not legislate the law from the bench.

"Judicial independence" is vital not only to our judicial system but to our democratic society as envisioned by and imbedded in our Constitution. Whenever it is compromised for any reason, not only are our State and Federal Constitutions violated, but the public loses faith in the judiciary. Our society will only believe in our judicial system if the decisions and rulings made by it are based upon and perceived to be objective, fair and consistent with legal precedent and sound legal reasoning. If our legal disputes are based upon political considerations, characteristics of the litigants or the tide of public opinion, our society will breakdown and cease to function as a democracy. The court system needs to serve as a safe haven for its litigants, where politics plays no role in the decision-making process. Our judiciary must administer equal justice under the law which only occurs when our judges conduct trials and rule from the appellate bench based solely on the law as written. This is the way that I have constructed my court since 2002 when I first took the bench, and this is the way that I will conduct myself as an Appellate Judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. The public deserves no less and our democratic system depends upon it. 

To ensure that the criminal laws of the State of Alabama and US Constitution are applied equally and fairly to all citizens.  The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals should respond by applying the law equally to all defendants, regardless of their station in life.

 If public opinion plays any role in the decision-making function of a judge, the judges cease to become fair and impartial arbitrars and become politicians.  Politicians answer to the whims of political tides.  The function of a judge is to decide a case based upon the rule of law and judicial precedent.  Deciding cases upon the perception of public opinion would destroy the public’s confidence in our judicial system which is based upon equal justice for all and fundamental fairness.  The role of the court system is to level the playing field so that considerations of economic status, political persuasion, race, gender or any other external factor play no part in the outcome of the litigation.  The role of the judiciary is to resist public pressure, not cave into it. In this way the public can reasonably rely upon the integrity of our judicial system to resolve disputes.  Judges must be both independent and impartial in order to safeguard our democratic system and maintain an orderly society.

When I took an oath to serve as Circuit Judge of Jefferson County, Criminal Division, in 2002, I swore to uphold the law and the Constitution.  I remember that solemn oath every single day that I take the bench to preside over criminal cases. If any judge allows his or her personal beliefs to influence his or her judicial decisions, it would be a clear violation of that oath. If personal beliefs influence the decisions that judges make, those decisions would be based upon passion, prejudice and bias.  The rule of law, which is the hallmark of our judicial system, would no longer exist.  The principle of justice, which is what our system is supposed to stand for and dispense, would evaporate.  Our criminal justice system is based upon the notion that justice is blind and that judges are fair and impartial.  A judge is only as good as his or her ability to adhere to those principles.  Obviously, all judges are human and all of us have opinions and personal beliefs.  However, our oath requires, our Constitution mandates and our public demands that judges follow the law and make rulings and decisions based upon it.  History itself has judged our greatest judges as those who rose above their personal beliefs and stood for fairness and impartiality.  I intend to continue to respect and follow the rule of law that I am sworn to uphold, respect and observe.

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