Lyn Stuart
Lyn Stuart was the Republican chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 2016 to 2019.
Stuart was named acting chief justice in May 2016, following former Chief Justice Roy Moore's suspension from the court.[1] In April 2017, following the resolution of Moore's suspension appeal, Stuart was sworn in as chief justice.[2] She ran for re-election in 2018 but lost the primary on June 5, 2018.
Education
Stuart received her B.A. with high honors in sociology and education from Auburn University in 1977. She earned her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1980.[3]
Career
Following her admission to the bar, Justice Stuart worked as an assistant attorney general under Attorney General Charles Graddick. She also served as an executive assistant to the commissioner and special assistant attorney general for the State Department of Corrections. She later became an assistant district attorney for Baldwin County under District Attorney David Whetstone. In 1988, Stuart was elected a district court judge; she was re-elected to the same seat in 1994. Governor Fob James appointed Stuart to a seat on the Alabama Circuit Courts in 1997, and the following year she was elected to a six-year term without opposition. In 2000, she was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court, on which she still serves.[3]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Inducted into the Atmore Area Hall of Fame, 2009[4][5]
- Dean's Service Award, The University of Alabama School of Law
Associations
- Former Secretary, Student Bar Association, The University of Alabama School of Law
- Faculty Advisor, National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada
- Past President, Alabama Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- President, Blue Ridge Institute for Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- Speaker, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- Member, John A. Campbell Moot Court Board
- Member, Heritage Junior Women's Club
- Member, Bay Minette Kiwanis Club
- Member, First United Methodist Church of Bay Minette[3]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice
Tom Parker defeated Robert S. Vance in the general election for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom Parker (R) | 57.4 | 975,564 |
 | Robert S. Vance (D) | 42.5 | 723,149 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,073 | ||
| Total votes: 1,699,786 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice
Robert S. Vance advanced from the Democratic primary for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Robert S. Vance |
| ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice
Tom Parker defeated incumbent Lyn Stuart in the Republican primary for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom Parker | 51.8 | 267,559 |
 | Lyn Stuart | 48.2 | 248,605 | |
| Total votes: 516,164 | |||
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Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
All justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are elected for six-year terms in partisan elections.[6] The composition of the court consists of eight associate justices and one chief justice. Vacancies, which can occur when a justice dies, resigns, retires, or is removed from office, are filled through appointments by the governor of Alabama. The justice must run for the seat in the general election at least one year after being appointed.[6]
Qualifications
To be considered a candidate for the supreme court, the person must:
- Be licensed to practice law in Alabama.
- Have lived in Alabama for at least one year.
- Be 70 years of age or younger at the time of candidacy.[7]
Selection of the chief justice
The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is elected by popular vote.[8]
2012
- See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2012
In September 2011, Stuart announced her bid for re-election in 2012.[9] She ran unopposed and was re-elected on Nov. 6, 2012.[10][11]
2006
Stuart was re-elected to the court in 2006.[12][13]
In the 2006 campaign, Stuart raised a total of $1,799,235. General Business contributed $1,315,250, or 73.10% of the total. Transportation was the second largest industry that gave to the campaign with $130,100, or 7.23%, and Lawyers and Lobbyists were the third largest industry that gave to Stuart's campaign, with $113,983, or 6.34%.[14]
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lyn Stuart  |
Yes | Place 3 | Republican | 71.7% | 57.8% | |
| Albert Johnson | No | Place 3 | Democratic | 42.1% | ||
| Alan Zeigler | No | Place 3 | Republican | 105,288 |
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."[15][16]
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.
Stuart received a campaign finance score of 0.73, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was less 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.[17]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Members of the Court
- Lyn Stuart's blog
- Alabama Judicial System
- Follow the Money: Lyn Stuart
- Questions over DUI Law involves Stuart
- The Atmore Advance, "Stuart eyes state job," July 13, 2011
- The Atmore Advance, "Atmore native won't vie for chief justice," September 2, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ Gulf Coast News Today, "Baldwin's Stuart named acting chief justice," October 23, 2016
- ↑ WAAY, "Governor Ivey appoints new Alabama Chief Justice," April 26, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Alabama Judicial System, Supreme Court, "Associate Justice Lyn Stuart," accessed February 23, 2016
- ↑ NorthEscambia.com "Marlboro Man, Supreme Court Justice And Teacher Honored, Inducted Into Area Hall Of Fame," November 23, 2009
- ↑ Atmore Advance "Atmore HOF honors three," November 25, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Alabama Unified Judicial System, "Qualifications of Judges," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Unified Judicial System, "Alabama Appellate Courts," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Alabama," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ The Atmore Advance, "Atmore native won't vie for chief justice," September 2, 2011
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, List of Federal and Statewide Candidates
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Certified 2012 General Election Results," February 21, 2013
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, 2006 General Election Results
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, 2006 Primary Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money: Lyn Stuart 2006
- ↑ 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
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current judges | Tommy Bryan, Greg Cook, Bill Lewis, Chris McCool, Brad Mendheim, William Sellers, Greg Shaw, Sarah Stewart, Kelli Wise | ||
| Former judges | Michael Bolin, Sue Bell Cobb, James Allen Main, Jay Mitchell, Roy Moore, Glenn Murdock, Tom Parker, Tom Parker, Sarah Stewart, Lyn Stuart, Thomas A. Woodall | ||
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
