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Glenn Murdock
Glenn Murdock was an associate justice on the Alabama Supreme Court. He was first elected to a six-year term on the court in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012. Murdock's current term expired on January 13, 2019.[1][2] He resigned from the court on January 16, 2018.[3]
Education
Murdock received his undergraduate degree in political science and economics from the University of Alabama in 1978, graduating summa cum laude. He received his J.D. in 1981 from the University of Virginia School of Law.[1]
Career
After graduating from law school, Murdock returned to Alabama, where he was a law clerk to the late Judge Clarence Allgood of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He then went into private practice at a law firm that argued cases before the state and federal courts of Alabama. Murdock also served as an attorney to the Honorable Perry O. Hooper, Sr., in the successful year-long federal court litigation to establish the lawful winner of the 1994 Alabama chief justice election. In 2000, Murdock was elected to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2006 and began serving on the court in January 2007.[1]
Awards and associations
Associations
- Member, Rotary Club of Birmingham
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Birmingham Bar Association
- Member, Phi Beta Kappa Association[1]
Elections
2012
- See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2012
Murdock ran unopposed and was re-elected to the Alabama Supreme Court on November 6, 2012.[4][2]
2006
Murdock was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2006.[5][6]
For a complete summary of Glenn Murdock's 2006 campaign contributions, visit Follow the Money, "Glenn Murdock"
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Glenn Murdock  |
No | Place 4 | Republican | 61.1% | 54.9% | |
| John England | No | Place 4 | Democratic | 45% | ||
| Tracy Gwyn BirdSong | No | Place 4 | Republican | 12.3% | ||
| Jean Brown | Yes | Place 4 | Republican | 26.5% |
Noteworthy cases
Driver's exams in multiple languages
A 2007 decision from the Alabama Supreme Court held that offering driver's tests in languages other than English did not violate a 1990 amendment to the Alabama Constitution declaring English to be Alabama's official language. The amendment states that the legislature "shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the state of Alabama."
Prior to the 1990 amendment, driver's exams had been offered in 14 languages. In 1991, the state Department of Public Safety began giving all driver's exams in English, though a lawsuit in 1998 prompted the department to again offer driver's exams in multiple languages.
The court's 5-4 decision upheld a lower court ruling stating that administering the test in multiple languages did not diminish the status of English as Alabama's official language. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb wrote for the majority, citing Gov. Bob Riley's argument that people who took the exam in their native language could be better assimilated into the community because having a license improves access to education, employment, and shopping.
Four justices—Glenn Murdock, Lyn Stuart, Michael Bolin, and Tom Parker—dissented. Bolin wrote in his dissent: "The immigrants who came to Alabama by way of Ellis Island in the early 20th century did not have the benefit of a tortured construction of Amendment No. 509 and evidently 'assimilated' the wrong way — they actually learned the English language."[7][8]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Murdock received a campaign finance score of 0.81, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.79 that justices received in Alabama.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, 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 an academic summary of various relevant factors.[9]
See also
External links
- Alabama Judicial System, "Members of the Court"
- Alabama Judicial System, "Associate Justice Glenn Murdock"
- Alabama Judicial System
- Follow the Money.org, "Candidate Summary: Glenn Murdock"
- The Decatur Daily, "Murdock say he can't be labeled," May 8, 2006
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alabama Judicial System, "Glenn Murdock," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama Secretary of State, "Certified 2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Justice Glenn Murdock Resigns From Alabama Supreme Court," January 4, 2018
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "List of Federal and Statewide Candidates"
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2006 General Election Results"
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2006 Primary Election Results"
- ↑ Free Republic, "Alabama Supreme Court 'allows' drivers exam in Spanish," October 20, 2007
- ↑ The ProEnglish Advocate, "5-4 Alabama Supreme Court driver’s test ruling ignores common sense," December 2007
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama
State courts:
Alabama Supreme Court • Alabama Court of Civil Appeals • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals • Alabama Circuit Courts • Alabama District Courts • Alabama Juvenile Courts • Alabama Municipal Courts • Alabama Probate Courts • Alabama Small Claims Courts
State resources:
Courts in Alabama • Alabama judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alabama
