By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, April 26, 2017, Alabama: Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker (R) announced that he is running for Chief Justice.
Justice Parker said in a statement, “For twelve years I’ve been honored to serve as a strong, conservative voice on the Alabama Supreme Court. Today, I’m announcing my campaign for Chief Justice of Alabama in the 2018 Primary Election, to succeed Judge Roy Moore, who was unlawfully removed from office.”
Justice Parker continued, “Alabama is a conservative state. We revere the Constitution and the Rule of Law. And I believe our courts are the battleground for our God-given rights as free people.”
Parker concluded, “Please pray with me as I take this step, and thank you for standing with me as I continue to stand for the God-given principles that remain the foundation of the freedoms we cherish as Alabamians.”
Earlier in the day, Chief Justice Roy Moore announced his retirement effective immediately in order to run in this year’s special election for Chief Justice. Moore had been suspended for the remainder of his term by the Court of the Judiciary (COJ). That verdict was upheld last week by a special appointed Alabama Supreme Court consisting of retired judges.
Following Judge Moore’s retirement, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) appointed Justice Lyn Stuart (R) as Chief Justice. Stuart has been criticized by some conservatives for her decision to appoint a special Supreme Court of retired judges to handle the Moore appeal.
Justice Tom Parker was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2004 and then re-elected in 2010 and in 2016. He previously was the Deputy Administrative Director of Courts, where he served as General Counsel for the Alabama court system. Parker also served as the Legal Adviser to the Chief Justice. Justice Parker served in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office under then Alabama Attorneys General Jeff Sessions (R) and Bill Pryor (R).
Parker graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and received his law degree from Vanderbilt. He won a Rotary International Fellowship to study law at the University of Sao Paulo School of Law, in Brazil.
Tom Parker was founding Executive Director of the Alabama Family Alliance (now the Alabama Policy Institute) and, later, the founding Executive Director for the Alabama Family Advocates, which were state organizations associated with Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family.
Parker is a Montgomery native and attended Sidney Lanier High School. Parker and his wife, Dottie James, have been married for 35 years. They are members of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church.
Governor Ivey still has to appoint a new member of the State’s highest court.
