Some initial thoughts are below. The possible candidates are listed in alphabetical order. I’m sure we’ll have more as the process goes in motion.
Liles Burke | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
In 2001, Burke was named the Municipal Judge for the City of Arab. He held that office until 2006 when he was appointed Marshall County District Judge by Governor Bob Riley. In 2008 Judge Burke was elected to a full term on the District Court, without opposition. In February of 2011, Judge Burke was named by Governor Robert Bentley to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, filling the office left vacant by the election of Judge Kelli Wise to the Alabama Supreme Court.
Scott Donaldson | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Donaldson is a former Circuit Judge from Tuscaloosa County. He was appointed by Governor Bentley to the Court of Civil Appeals, filling the seat left vacant by Judge Tommy Bryan’s election to the Supreme Court. Donaldson considered running for the Supreme Court in 2012, so he’s clearly open to running statewide, which he would ultimately have to do if he received the appointment.
Bentley clearly thinks highly of Judge Donaldson, but he was basically just appointed to his current post. That could work against him.
Butch Ellis | Shelby County Government Attorney
Ellis has been Shelby County’s attorney since 1964. The county has been getting national attention lately after the U.S. Supreme Court took up their challenge to sections 4(b) and 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Ellis has been right in the middle of it.
He’s also a former state senator and comes from a long line of Alabama politicos. He’s known by some as the “Godfather” of Shelby County politics. His son, Corley, is a Shelby County Commissioner and was on Yellowhammer’s Local Leader 20 list this year.
[Editor’s note: the Alabama Constitution prohibits any member of the Supreme Court from seeking re-election once they have attained the age of seventy years. It’s unclear though if that prohibits the Governor from appointing someone over that age, which Ellis is. I’ll try to find out more on that, but a pick like Ellis could theoretically be a “placeholder,” just filling the seat until the next election.]
Mike Joiner | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
Joiner was elected as a Circuit Judge in 1992. In February 2011, Judge Joiner was one of Governor Bentley’s first appointees when he was named to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, filling the office left vacant by the appointment of Justice James Allen Main to the Alabama Supreme Court.
Judge Joiner’s experience and his rock-solid relationship with Bentley make him one of the early front runners.
Chuck Malone | Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge
Malone has been a key player throughout the Bentley Administration. He and Bentley are longtime friends, which made him a no-brainer pick for Bentley’s first Chief of Staff. He resigned from his seat on the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court to take that gig. Governor Bentley then appointed him Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in August of 2011 when Sue Bell Cobb resigned. He’s now back on the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court after losing in the 2012 GOP primary to Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Some people close to Malone say that there’s probably no way he’d want to come back to Montgomery. But considering how close he is to the Governor, he always has to be in the mix when things like this open up.
Will Sellers | Balch & Bingham LLP
Sellers is a partner at Balch and Bingham and maintains a general business practice with an emphasis on taxation, business organizations and finance. He’s been known to get his name in the mix when appointments open up, and we’d expect him to do the same here.
History suggests that Bentley prefers to appoint judges with a lot of experience on the bench, but Sellers can’t be counted out because of his ability to rally the GOP faithful.
William Thompson | Presiding Judge | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Judge Thompson was elected to the Court of Civil Appeals from Homewood in 1996 and was re-elected to the court in 2002 and 2008. He became presiding judge of the court in 2007. Prior to serving as a judge, Judge Thompson practiced law in both Birmingham and Montgomery.
