Candidate Responses to Voter Guide Questions
Candidates were asked to provide answers to seven fundamental, nonpartisan questions for this voter guide. Candidates were asked not to make comparisons with any other candidate. Candidates were advised that their answers would be limited to 250 words per question. Each candidate's answers are reprinted verbatim here up to that word limit.
1. How have your training, professional experience, and interests prepared you to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court?
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I am uniquely qualified to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court because of my legal training, background and experience. I have over twenty years of legal experience specializing as an appellate lawyer. I am proud to have been recognized as one of the State’s top experts in appellate procedure.
After law school, I was a judicial law clerk for Justice Oscar Adams. Following my clerkship, I began my law practice at the law firm of Rives & Peterson where I served in the firm’s Appellate Practice Section. I handled hundreds of appeals in Alabama’s appellate courts, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. I was a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, was Chairperson of the Amicus Curiae Committee and filed numerous “friend of the court” appellate briefs.
I have been the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure for many years. I was the only practicing lawyer on the Supreme Court Committee of Appellate Mediation which developed an Appellate Mediation Program that has been used by the Supreme Court of Alabama and Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
For the past ten years, I have continued my appellate practice at the firm of Taylor & Taylor in Birmingham. I have represented countless Alabamians and Alabama businesses in front of the State’s highest courts.
As a result of my training and professional experience, I will bring a depth of practical legal experience to the court. |
| 2. What do you consider to be the three most important attributes of a judge? |
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A judge must be a hard working servant of the people, impartial and knowledgeable in the law. |
| 3. What is your judicial philosophy? |
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I believe that every case decided by an appellate court must be based solely on the law and the facts of the case. An appellate judge must exercise judicial restraint in his or her approach to the law to insure certainty, consistency and stability in the administration of justice. Society should be able to look to settled questions of law and know how a particular issue will be decided, not only to promote confidence in our judicial system, but also to encourage economic growth. |
| 4. How do you define “judicial independence,” and how important is it to our judicial system? |
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Judicial independence means that courts are able to decide cases based on the law, free of interference from other branches of government, political pressure or the influence of special interests. Judges must be free from even the perception of outside influences. I believe that judicial independence is vital to maintaining public confidence in the integrity of our courts. |
| 5. What is the greatest area of need in the Alabama justice system, and how should the Alabama Supreme Court respond, if at all? |
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The greatest area of need in the Alabama justice system is prison overcrowding. Alabama prisons are at almost 200 percent capacity and are experiencing serious budget shortages. Alabama does not have the money to build new prisons in order to add enough capacity to deal with our current prison population, let alone projected future prison population growth. Yet, our state faces costly federal lawsuits if we do not find a way to manage this overcrowding crisis.
Our first priority must be the safety of our citizens, but we must be realistic about our budgetary constraints. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb has proposed several solutions, including alternative sentencing for low-risk juveniles and non-violent first time offenders. The Alabama Supreme Court must provide leadership working with the Legislature, circuit and district court judges and others within the criminal justice system to manage and eventually solve this very serious problem. |
| 6. What part, if any, should public opinion play in the decision of a judge? |
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The judiciary must be accountable to the voters. However, an appellate judge must decide a case based on the law. The court of public opinion should not play any role in a judge’s decision. |
| 7. In a case before the Court, how should a judge handle a conflict between his/her personal beliefs and the law? |
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A judge is obligated to follow the law even when it may conflict with his or her personal beliefs. If a judge cannot follow the law because of those personal beliefs, the judge should strongly consider recusal from the case. |
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