Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals is one of two intermediate appellate courts in the Alabama judicial system. The other is the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. The court was established in 1969 when what had been one unitary state Court of Appeals was broken into a criminal appeals court and a civil appeals court. The unified Court of Appeals had been operative since 1911.

The Court of Civil Appeals hears civil matters, including those related to domestic situations such as divorce, adoptions, child custody, etc. They will rule on cases appealed from certain state administrative agencies, such as worker's compensation. The Court of Civil Appeals also has jurisdiction in civil appeals where the amount in controversy does not exceed $50,000.

There are five judges on the Court of Civil Appeals. They are elected in statewide partisan elections to six-year terms. A presiding judge is the administrative head of the court. The position is filled by the most-senior judge serving on the court. The presiding judge serves no specified term.

• Published opinions of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals can be found here.

 

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Court information
Judges:	5
Founded:	1969
Salary:	Associates: $192,036
Judicial selection
Method:	Partisan election of judges
Term:	6 years

Judges

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Terry A. Moore	2007 - Present	Elected
Christy Olinger Edwards	January 14, 2019 - Present	Elected
Matt Fridy	January 18, 2021 - Present	Elected
Chad Hanson	January 14, 2019 - Present	Elected
Ben Bowden	May 21, 2025 - Present	Kay Ivey

Salary

See also: Alabama court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $192,036, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Judicial selection

The five judges on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals 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. 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).

Chief judge

The chief judge of the court is the most senior judge and serves for an indefinite term.

Vacancies

Should a vacancy occur between regularly scheduled elections, which take place in November of even-numbered years, an interim judge is appointed by the governor. Any judge appointed in this fashion must then stand for election in the next general election occurring at least one year after taking office.

Elections

• 2030
• 2026
• 2024
• 2020
• 2018

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2030

Terry Moore's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Chad Hanson's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Christy Olinger Edwards' seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

Matt Fridy's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Ben Bowden's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

Place 1

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Christy Olinger Edwards (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christy Olinger Edwards (R)	97.9	1,555,361
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1%	33,716

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,589,077
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Christy Olinger Edwards (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals without appearing on the ballot.

Place 2

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Chad Hanson (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chad Hanson (R)	97.9	1,549,864
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1%	33,644

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,583,508
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Chad Hanson (R) defeated Stephen Davis Parker (R) in the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chad Hanson	56.5	264,908
	Submit photo	Stephen Davis Parker	43.5	204,100

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 469,008
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 3

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Terry A. Moore (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry A. Moore (R)	97.9	1,551,657
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1%	33,096

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,584,753
= 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Terry A. Moore (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals without appearing on the ballot.

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Donaldson's seat

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Matt Fridy (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Fridy (R)	97.7	1,539,415
		Other/Write-in votes	2.3%	35,890

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,575,305
= 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Matt Fridy (R) defeated Phillip Bahakel (R) in the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Fridy	66.0	353,024
	Submit photo	Phillip Bahakel	34.0	181,717

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 534,741
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Thompson's seat

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent William Thompson (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Thompson (R)	97.7	1,546,671
		Other/Write-in votes	2.3%	36,484

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,583,155
= 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.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent William Thompson (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals without appearing on the ballot.

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

Place 1

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Christy Olinger Edwards (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christy Olinger Edwards (R)	97.0	1,084,931
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0%	33,510

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,118,441
= 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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Republican primary runoff

Republican primary runoff for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Christy Olinger Edwards (R) defeated Michelle M. Thomason (R) in the Republican primary runoff for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on July 17, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christy Olinger Edwards	53.6	148,867
	Submit photo	Michelle M. Thomason	46.4	128,673

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 277,540
= 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for June 5, 2018, was canceled.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Christy Olinger Edwards (R) and Michelle M. Thomason (R) advanced to a runoff. They defeated Peyton C. Thetford (R) in the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christy Olinger Edwards	40.8	167,238
✔	Submit photo	Michelle M. Thomason	32.0	131,298
	Submit photo	Peyton C. Thetford	27.3	111,853

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 410,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Place 2

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Chad Hanson (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chad Hanson (R)	97.0	1,081,480
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0%	33,277

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,114,757
= 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.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for June 5, 2018, was canceled.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Chad Hanson (R) defeated incumbent Terri Willingham Thomas (R) in the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chad Hanson	53.2	214,613
		Terri Willingham Thomas	46.8	188,982

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 403,595
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Place 3

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Terry A. Moore (R) won election in the general election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry A. Moore (R)	97.0	1,082,533
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0%	33,269

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,115,802
= 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.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for June 5, 2018, was canceled.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Incumbent Terry A. Moore (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Terry A. Moore

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Previous election results

2014

See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2014

Unopposed	Judge William Thompson (Alabama) (Seat 1)

Unopposed	Judge Scott Donaldson (Seat 2)

2012

See also: Alabama judicial elections, 2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
PittmanCraig Sorrell Pittman   A	Yes	Republican	Place 1		98.18%   A
ThomasTerri Willingham Thomas   A	Yes	Republican	Place 2		98.19%   A
MooreTerry A. Moore   A	Yes	Republican	Place 3		98.25%   A

Ethics

Judges in Alabama must follow the state's Canons of Judicial Ethics. The canons govern the judges' professional conduct.

• Canon 1 - A judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
• Canon 2 - A judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities.
• Canon 3 - A judge should perform the duties of his office impartially and diligently.
• Canon 4 - A judge may engage in activities to improve the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.
• Canon 5 - A judge should regulate his extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with his judicial duties.
• Canon 6 - A judge should regularly file reports of his financial interests.
• Canon 7 - A judge or a judicial candidate shall refrain from political activity inappropriate to judicial office.

Removal of judges

In Alabama, judges may be removed:

• by the Court of the Judiciary upon a complaint filed by the Judicial Inquiry Commission.
• by being impeached.

Judicial Inquiry Commission

If a canon of judicial conduct is broken, or a complaint is made suggesting that a canon was not followed, the Judicial Inquiry Commission is charged with investigating. The commission is made up of nine members. According to the Alabama Appellate Courts website, "if a majority of the members of the commission decide that a reasonable basis exists to charge a judge with a violation of any Canon of Judicial Ethics" or other professional wrongdoing, then the commission may file a complaint with the Court of the Judiciary, which will hear the matter.

Court of the Judiciary

This court hears complaints from the Judicial Inquiry Commission against judges. It is composed of nine members. One intermediate appellate court judge, two circuit court judges selected by the Circuit Judges' Association, one district court judge selected by the District Judges' Association, two members of the state bar selected by the bar's governing body, and three non-lawyers appointed by the governor of Alabama. The appointments made by the governor must be confirmed by the Alabama State Senate.

After the court investigates the complaint and holds a public hearing, the court has the ability to:

“

(1) to remove from office, suspend without pay, or censure a judge, or apply such other sanction as may be prescribed by law, for violation of a Canon of Judicial Ethics, misconduct in office, failure to perform his duties, or (2) to suspend with or without pay, or to retire a judge who is physically or mentally unable to perform his duties.

”

State profile

Demographic data for Alabama
	Alabama	U.S.
Total population:	4,853,875	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	50,645	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	68.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	26.4%	12.6%
Asian:	1.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.7%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	84.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	23.5%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$43,623	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	23.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Alabama

Alabama voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Alabama coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Alabama
• United States congressional delegations from Alabama
• Public policy in Alabama
• Endorsers in Alabama
• Alabama fact checks
• More...

See also

Alabama	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Alabama Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Alabama Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Alabama	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Alabama Judicial System, "Alabama Court of Civil Appeals"
• Alabama Judicial System, "A History of the Alabama Judicial System"

Footnotes

Alabama courts

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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