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Greg Cook (Alabama)
Greg Cook (Republican Party) is a judge of the Alabama Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 16, 2023. His current term ends on January 15, 2029.
Cook (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the Alabama Supreme Court. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Cook completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Greg Cook was born on Travis Air Force Base in California. Cook served in the U.S. Air Force from 1984 to 1988 and reached the rank of captain. He earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1984 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991. Cook's career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Alabama Supreme Court
Greg Cook defeated Anita L. Kelly in the general election for Alabama Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Greg Cook (R)  | 67.4 | 943,177 |
| Anita L. Kelly (D) | 32.5 | 454,878 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,271 | ||
| Total votes: 1,399,326 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Anita L. Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for Alabama Supreme Court.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alabama Supreme Court
Greg Cook defeated Debra H. Jones in the Republican primary for Alabama Supreme Court on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Greg Cook | 55.3 | 318,366 |
 | Debra H. Jones | 44.7 | 256,827 | |
| Total votes: 575,193 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Greg Cook completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cook's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Greg is a committed Conservative Republican. He has volunteered for the Alabama Republican Party since 1992, served as the General Counsel for the Party and was selected as a delegate for President Trump.
He is running because he believes in public service. Greg served his country in the United States Air Force for four years and has volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America since 1987, currently serving as a Vice-President for the Greater Alabama Council. Greg and his wife, Kimberly have been members at Dawson Baptist for 30 years where Greg is an ordained Deacon. Greg is originally from Florence Alabama now lives in Vestavia.
Greg has received endorsements from the BCA, Alfa, the Alabama Forestry Association, the Alabama Retail Association, and the Alabama Trucking Association (among others).- I believe in the Rule of Law. Judges should be applying the existing law rather being an activist on the bench. Nobody should be surprised by their rulings.
- Free and fair elections are vital to our state and country. I have spent 30 years volunteering with elections and will apply the Rule of Law to our elections.
- I am qualified. I have spent over 30 years studying for this job. I am boring and predictable and this is what we should want of our Supreme Court justices.
Second, I am passionate generally about the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law makes civilized and complex society possible. It protects people from arbitrary government action. It makes private property possible. It allows the people to enter into contracts. It provides predictability and certainty so that citizens can plan and invest and act without fear. It protects innovators who have new discoveries. It keeps people safe from dangerous criminals. Conceptually, the Rule of Law means (1) generality (that is, there are general rules that apply to equally to classes of persons as opposed to specific individuals), (2) publicity (that is, there are no secret laws), (3) prospective application (that is, no retroactive laws), (4) consistency (that is, no contradictory laws), (5) equality of application, and (6) certainty.
Second, I am conservative. I was a Republican before it was cool to be a Republican. I believe in small government and the Rule of Law.
As a justice, I will not have the right to impose my own view of what the law should be - I will be bound by the language use. I am not running to be a player on the field. I am running to be an umpire.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Cook's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Rule of Law Greg Cook is a strict constitutionalist who believes judges should apply the law as written, not legislate from the bench. Judges should be boring and predictable. Like an umpire, he believes judges should call balls and strikes, not pick winners and losers. As a legal scholar who wrote the rule book for Alabama courts and legal procedures, Greg looks at each case with a conservative jurisprudence.
Greg has been on the front lines defending our voting rights and ensuring fair elections since 1992. As an attorney for the Republican Party, he has handled election law disputes in over twenty Alabama counties, protecting against voter fraud and manipulation. Greg represented conservative interests during the 2000 Bush v. Gore Florida recount. There, he saw firsthand the importance of protecting the integrity of our ballots and following the law as it is written.
Our constitutional rights are under attack from those who seek to turn us from a constitutional republic into a socialist state. As a textualist, Greg Cook believes the Constitution should be interpreted as it was written. While liberal judges and bureaucrats believe our constitutional rights are not absolute, Greg will defend our First Amendment and Second Amendment rights.
As an Air Force veteran, Greg Cook has lived a life committed to service. Today, Greg continues giving back to his community as a deacon and Sunday school teacher, passing on his Christian faith to the next generation. Through his leadership with his local Boy Scout troop, Greg instills the values of patriotism, character, and service to our future leaders. His pro bono work for veterans and those who can’t afford representation in our courts show his commitment to ensuring a just result for all in our court system.[2] |
” |
| —Greg Cook's campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
State supreme court judicial selection in Alabama
- 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.[4] For more information about these elections, visit the Alabama judicial elections page.
Qualifications
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).[5][6]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by popular vote, serving in that office for his or her full six-year term.[4][7]
Vacancies
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.[4][8]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Alabama Supreme Court |
Officeholder Alabama Supreme Court |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 15, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Greg Cook | Supreme Court, “Issues,” accessed March 9, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Alabama Judicial System, "Qualification of Judges," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Judicial Retirement Laws, "Alabama: Mandatory Retirement Provisions Applicable Generally," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Minimum Qualifications for Public Office," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Justia, "Article VI, Alabama Constitution - Section 152," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Bolin (R) |
Alabama Supreme Court 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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
 |
State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
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