Steve Flowers: We now have a very youthful federal judiciary in Alabama
Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, has left an indelible legacy and imprint on our state. Every corner of the state has been the recipient of his prowess at bringing home the bacon to the Heart of Dixie. Every university has enjoyed a largesse of federal dollars. He has made the Huntsville Redstone Arsenal one of the most renowned high technology regions in the nation, not to mention placing the FBI’s second home in Huntsville. Shelby’s accomplishments for Alabama would take a book to enumerate. However, what is not universally known is that Senator Richard Shelby has transformed the federal judiciary in Alabama for years to come. During the entire eight-year presidency of Barack Obama, by nature, we had some attrition in our federal judiciary in all three regions, Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts. Even though President Obama sought to appoint Democratic judges throughout the state, Senator Shelby and Senator Jeff Sessions thwarted all Democratic appointees and held these cherished and powerful judgeships vacant. Shelby and Sessions were hopeful that one day there would be a Republican president coupled with a Republican Senate majority, and they would be able to appoint Republican jurists to the federal bench in Alabama. That happened when Donald Trump became president. Senator Sessions had parted with his senate seat to become attorney general, so that left Senator Shelby to select and get confirmed a host of new, young federal judges in Alabama. Shelby assigned his loyal and brilliant Chief of Staff, Katie Boyd Britt, the job of vetting potential federal judgeships. She and Shelby chose an outstanding cadre of young, well-educated, extremely qualified, moderately conservative men and women to sit on the federal bench in Alabama. This group is stellar and will be the majority of federal judges for the next 25 to 30 years. This coup of appointing young, conservative, extremely capable judges to the federal bench in Alabama may be one of Senator Richard Shelby’s greatest legacies. Shelby had Andrew Brasher first appointed to the Middle District of Alabama. However, soon thereafter, an opening occurred on the Eleventh Circuit, and so Shelby had President Trump appoint Brasher to the higher appeals court. Prior to Brasher’s appointment to the Middle District, he practiced law with Bradley Arant in Birmingham. He was solicitor general and a law clerk for Judge Bill Pryor. Judge Brasher is a graduate of Samford University and Harvard Law School. Senator Shelby had President Trump appoint Anna Manasco as a federal judge in the Northern District of Alabama. Judge Manasco, like Judge Brasher, practiced law in Birmingham with Bradley Arant prior to her federal appointment. She graduated with honors from Emory University before earning her law degree from Yale Law School. Shelby aligned with President Trump to appoint Corey Maze for a seat on the federal bench in the Northern District. Judge Maze was a prosecutor for the State of Alabama Attorney General’s office. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Auburn University and a graduate of Georgetown Law. Senator Shelby had President Trump appoint Liles Burke to a federal judgeship in the Northern District. Burke was an Associate Judge of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals before his federal appointment. He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Alabama. Annemarie Axon is another Trump and Shelby anointed appointee for the Northern District of Alabama. Judge Axon practiced law in Birmingham before her appointment. She, like all of the other Northern District appointees, is extremely well qualified. Axon also obtained her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Alabama. Austin Huffaker, Jr. of Montgomery, was chosen by Shelby and Trump for a federal judgeship in the Middle District. He practiced law in Montgomery prior to his appointment. He has an engineering degree from Vanderbilt and earned his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. Also appointed by Shelby and Trump to the Middle District is Emily Marks of Montgomery. Judge Marks practiced law in Montgomery prior to her appointment. She is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile and the University of Alabama School of Law. Jeffrey Beaverstock was appointed to a federal judgeship in the Southern District. He practiced law in Mobile and is a graduate of the Citadel and the University of Alabama School of Law. Terry Moorer was appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the senate for the Southern District. He was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney and is a graduate of Huntington College and the University of Alabama School of Law. This host of federal jurists in Alabama will be one of Senator Richard Shelby’s lasting legacies. 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 www.steveflowers.us.
Annemarie Axon confirmed as U.S. District Judge
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby released at statement on Wednesday celebrating the confirmation vote for U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Annemarie Carney Axon. Axon, who nominated for the position by President Donald Trump in 2017, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the consideration of her nomination this week. “It is critically important for a judge to be fair, open-minded, courteous, and respectful to the attorneys and parties in each case,” Axon told the committee; promising to “conduct [herself] and [her] courtroom in a manner that strives to leave people with the conviction that they were treated fairly, respectfully, and that [she] followed the law, regardless of the outcome.” She then ended her hearing with a statement, saying that “our democracy demands an independent judiciary whose decisions are based exclusively on the law, as it is written.” Shelby congratulated Axon in a news release, saying “Annemarie Axon is exceptionally qualified to be a U.S. district judge. Her strong, respectful temperament and commitment to impartiality make her well-suited for this esteemed position. Alabama’s district judges must be confirmed as swiftly as possible to ensure the efficiency of our judicial system. These judges serve as the backbone of the United States Judicial Branch, and I am honored to have played a part in Axon’s confirmation today.” Axon was one of seven Alabama judicial nominees awaiting confirmation from the Judiciary Committee. The other nominees include: Terry F. Moorer Jeffrey Beaverstock Emily Coody Marks Liles Burke Andrew Brasher Corey Maze Axon is currently a member of the Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff, & Brandt, LLC, legal team in Birmingham, where she focuses on fiduciary and probate litigation. Her legal career began in 2000 at the Edwards & Angell, LLP, firm in Rhode Island. She is still a member of both the Alabama and Rhode Island State Bar Associations. “We are extremely proud of Annemarie and congratulate her on her confirmation. Selfishly we hate to lose Annemarie as a valuable and integral member of our firm, but we know her temperament and sound judgment will make her a great federal judge,” said Jay Clark, managing member at Wallace Jordan. She also serves as the President of the YWCA Junior Board, a member of the Girls on the Run Board of Directors, and a member of the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation Board.
Donald Trump nominates Alabama’s Corey Maze for federal judgeship
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the nomination of Alabama Special Deputy Attorney General Corey Maze to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. “Corey Maze is a very talented and experienced lawyer who would be an outstanding addition to the Northern District Court bench,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “He possesses a broad base of legal experience from the prosecution of criminal trials and appeals as an Alabama Assistant Attorney General, to arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court as former Alabama Solicitor General, to successfully representing Alabama in the landmark BP oil spill case.” “Maze is a man of the highest integrity and would be a great credit to the U.S. District Court. I wholeheartedly support his nomination,” said Marshall. Maze earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Auburn University and his J.D., cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. He currently serves as Special Deputy Attorney General for the State of Alabama. Since 2011, he has also served as chief of the Attorney General’s Special Litigation unit acting as the Yellowhammer state’s primary counsel in complex civil matters such as the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the ongoing opioid crisis. From 2008 to 2011, he served as the Solicitor General of Alabama, arguing three cases in the Supreme Court of the United States and winning three “Best Brief Awards” from the National Association of Attorneys General. Before his appointment as Solicitor General, Maze prosecuted criminal trials and appeals for five years as an Assistant Attorney General.
