We have a nine-member State Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is also comprised of nine members. The nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life. When one retires or dies, which is seldom, the President of the United States makes the appointment to fill the rare vacancy.
Our Alabama Supreme Court does not have this “appointment for life” luxury. They are not appointed, they are elected. However, their terms are for six years. Once they are elected, they seem to never get opposed for reelection. They run in staggered years.
Since we are a one-party state, all nine justices on our Alabama Supreme Court, as well as all five members of the Court of Criminal Appeals and all five members of the Court of Civil Appeals are Republicans. Since all 19 of these justices are elected in statewide Republican primaries, they are bona fide conservatives.
The description of conservative applies to the two State Supreme Court justices up for reelection this year. Justice Greg Shaw and Justice Brad Mendheim are up for reelection on May 19. They have done an outstanding job and deserve another term.
Justice Greg Shaw will be returning for his final six-year term on the bench. Our Alabama law prohibits a judge from running for another term after they reach age 70. Shaw will reach that plateau during his next six years on the Supreme Court.
Greg Shaw has been a steady mainstay conservative senior judge on the Supreme Court. He is on the May 19 ballot seeking his fourth term on the High Court. Shaw has been doing appellate work for the State of Alabama for 40 years now – 16 years as a Staff Attorney for the Supreme Court, eight years as a Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, and 16 years as a Justice on the Supreme Court. He is very well qualified.
Judge Brad Mendheim is pursuing his second, full six-year term. He is unopposed. He was born to be a judge. He was born and raised in Dothan. His father was a local pharmacist. He became a Circuit Judge for Houston and Henry Counties at a young age. He served as a Wiregrass Circuit Judge for a decade. He is very well respected in his hometown. He is a pillar of the First Baptist Church of Dothan. He is only 57 years old and should be a mainstay of the Supreme Court for several more decades.
Both Brad Mendheim and Greg Shaw are immensely qualified, proven conservative Republican jurists.
There are two female jurists running for reelection to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals – Mary Windom and Beth Kellum. These women work long, hard hours, as this appellate Court has an immense workload.
Mary Windom is running for her fourth, six-year term on the Court. She is the presiding judge on the five-member panel. She does an excellent job.
Beth Kellum is running for her fourth term on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Beth is a Tuscaloosa native and is approaching the record for longevity on this appeals panel. She got there at a young age.
Beth Kellum and Mary Windom both have done a stellar job as judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals and deserve another term.
The five member Court of Civil Appeals has two of their male members up for reelection. Judges Ben Bowden and Matt Fridy are unopposed.
Ben Bowden was recently appointed by Gov. Ivey to the Court of Civil Appeals. He will be reelected on May 19 to a full six-year term. Ben Bowden is imminently qualified. He has been Probate Judge of Covington County and was also a Circuit Judge prior to joining the Court of Civil Appeals. He is a good man.
Matt Fridy is seeking his second term on the Court of Civil Appeals. Matt served as a legislator from vote rich Shelby County prior to joining the Court of Civil Appeals. He is a real gentleman. Judge Fridy has a judicial law clerk, Madison Clark, who has a bright future in judicial politics in Alabama.
The May 19 primary elections are right around the corner.
See you next week.
Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at [email protected].
