Meet Christy Edwards, your presumptive, new Court of Civil Appeals, Place 1 Judge

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Christy Edwards
[Photo Credit: via Edward's facebook page]

In the race for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Place 1, three candidates stepped up to the plate seeking election in the June 5 primary. Judge Christy Edwards and Judge Michelle Thomason both garnered enough support to tip the race into a runoff election in which Edwards took home 54 percent of the vote.

Now, facing no Democratic challenger in the November general election, Edwards has presumably won her race and will become Court of Civil Appeals Place 1 Judge in 2019.

With that in mind, here are the five things you need to know about Christy Edwards:

1. She’s a judge on the Alabama Tax Court.

In 2016 Edwards was appointed to the Alabama Tax Tribunal where she currently serves as a Judge. According to her campaign website, she wants to bring her knowledge of tax laws to bear on the appeals process.

“Everyone has to pay taxes – businesses, business owners, consumers and regular people,” Edwards said. “The businesses and the people of this state need a judge who will oversee the tax laws and protect the taxpayers according to all the laws overseen by this court. I will do that.”

2. She’s an award-winning writer and orator.
In law school Edwards was the Regional Champion of the American Bar Association’s appellate advocacy competition, Regional Champion and national quarter finalist of the National Best Brief competition, and was named Jones Law School Best Oral Advocate. Her most recent articles have been published in the Journal of Multi-State Taxation and Incentives.
3. She was endorsed by primary opponent Pat Thetford.
Primary opponent Pat Thetford endorsed Edwards, saying he believed she is the best candidate for the job and urged his supporters to vote for her in the runoff election.

4. She has two degrees from Alabama.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Alabama, Edwards earned her Juris Doctorate from Faulkner University Jones School of Law and an LL.M. from the University of Alabama School of Law with a focus on complex state tax laws.
5. She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General.

Edwards practiced family and commercial and civil litigation in her own private practice for 2 years after law school. She then was appointed to serve as an attorney for the court of civil appeals before becoming an Assistant Attorney General under then Attorney General Luther Strange in 2011. There, she represented the state in state and local tax disputes in the Alabama Department of Revenue.