Most Republican appellate court incumbents win without an opponent as Democrats concede state appellate courts to the GOP
Major party qualifying ended on Friday. Four Republican Alabama Supreme Court Justices won election when no opponent – Republican or Democrat came forward. Justices Will Sellers, Tommy Bryan, and Jay Mitchell were all effectively re-elected as they face no Republican primary challenger. Write-in candidates are not allowed in party primaries. No attorney qualified for any of these races as a Democrat, so they are unlikely to face an opponent in the November general election. Chris McCool gave up his seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals to run for the open Place 1 associate supreme court justice seat. He also had no Republican or Democratic opponent qualify. On the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Republican incumbent Judges Richard Minor and Bill Cole were both effectively re-elected when no Republican or Democratic opponent qualified for either race. Two Republicans: Rich Anderson and Thomas Govan, qualified for the open Place 2 seat that Chris McCool is leaving to run for Supreme Court. Both Govan and Anderson work in the Alabama Attorney General’s office. No Democrat qualified for that seat either, so Govan and Anderson’s race in the Republican primary on March 5 is likely to decide this race. On the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals incumbents Christy Edwards and Terry Moore were both effectively re-elected when qualifying ended without either facing any opposition. The only incumbent appellate judge in the state to face a challenger is Republican: Republican Chad Hanson at Place 2 on the Court of Civil Appeals is being challenged in the Republican primary by Stephen Davis-Parker. There are four candidates running for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Chief Justice Tom Parker, also a Republican, cannot run again due to the state’s arcane mandatory retirement age for judges provision. Associate Justice Sarah Stewart is giving up her place 1 seat on the court to run for Chief Justice. Former State Senator Bryan Taylor is also running for the office. Taylor is also a former legal counsel for Governors Kay Ivey and Bob Riley. On Friday, Montgomery attorney Jerry Michael Blevins also qualified to run for Chief Justice. Chief Justice is the only state appellate race that the Alabama Democratic Party is even contesting. Judge Greg Griffin will face the eventual Republican nominee for Chief Justice in the November general election. Griffin presently is a Circuit Court Judge in Montgomery’s Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court. Thirty years ago, Democrats dominated the Alabama appellate courts. That changed in 1994 when retired Judge Perry Hooper Sr. defeated incumbent Sonny Hornsby in a contested race for chief justice. In the years since, Republican fortunes have continued to improve. Only one Democratic candidate, Doug Jones in 2017, has won any statewide race since 2008, and no Democratic judicial candidate has won a statewide race since Sue Bell Cobb was elected Chief Justice in 2006. Democrats are hopeful that Judge Griffin can change their fortunes next year. There is still a slight possibility that an attorney could still qualify as an independent or third-party candidate for one of these offices. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com
Mid-Alabama Republican Club discusses congressional redistricting issue
On Saturday, attorney Bert Jordan briefed the influential Mid-Alabama Republican Club (MARC) on the pending federal litigation over Alabama’s disputed congressional redistricting. On Monday morning, the State of Alabama will defend a congressional redistricting plan passed by the Alabama Legislature in July’s second 2023 special session. Plaintiffs have challenged that plan as violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Hoover City Councilman John Lyda is the President of MARC. “Burt Jordan has practiced law here for 43 years,” Lyda said. “His law firm, Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff, & Brandt, represents the City of Hoover, and I am very grateful for that.” Lyda said Jordan represented Perry Hooper Sr. in his disputed Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court race in 1992. He has been counsel for the Alabama Republican party. He also served as County chairman from 1995 to 1999. Jordan criticized the media coverage, particularly that of al.com in this case, as inaccurate. “I know al.com could do a better job,” he stated. “In early 2022, a U.S. District Court consisting of three judges issued an injunction because the 2021 Congressional redistricting likely violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” Jordan said. “Section 5 was struck down in 2012 in a decision by Chief Justice John Roberts. John Roberts has received a lot of criticism for that decision.” Jordan explained that in 1982, the City of Mobile’s city council districts were upheld by the Supreme Court. The city had three council districts that were voted on city-wide, but no Black representative had been elected to the council, even though the city was 33% Black. The Supreme Court found that the Mobile redistricting did not violate Section 2 because there was no intent to prevent a Black person from being elected. It just hadn’t happened. Following the Mobile decision, Section 2 of the VRA was rewritten by Congress from showing intent to a results outcome. Jordan explained 27% of Alabamians are Black. The plaintiffs argue that based on the results test, then two out of the seven congressional districts should be majority Black. “Nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population,” Jordan stated. Jordan said that a key Supreme Court decision here was Thornburg v Gingles. “The Gingles factors: First, the minority group must be sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a reasonably configured district. Second, the minority group must show that it is politically cohesive. Third, the minority must demonstrate that the White majority votes sufficiently as a bloc to enable it……..to defeat the minority’s preferred candidate. Finally, a plaintiff who demonstrates the three preconditions must also show, under the “totality for the circumstances,” that the political process is not “equally open” to minority voters.” Jordan said that the Court ruled that the 2021 Alabama congressional redistricting was “likely a violation of section 2 of the voting rights act. That is why we are where we are today.” Jordan explained that there are three separate lawsuits challenging the 2021 congressional redistricting that have all been wrapped together into one suit. Those plaintiffs are Milligan from Montgomery, Castor from Mobile, and state Senator Bobby Singleton from Hale County. “They say that the Legislature’s remedial plan does not comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” Jordan said. “It comes down to the racial composition of (Congressional) District 2. The complaint of the plaintiffs is that (the remedial congressional redistricting map passed by the Legislature in July) is not going to remedy the problem.” The Legislature increased the number of Black voters in CD2 to almost 40%. Jordan said that Milligan and the other plaintiffs will argue that “the Legislature did not produce two majority Black Districts”; thus, that violates the results test of Section 2 of the VRA. “The way the state is defending this is important,” Jordan said. “The state is defending this on the grounds that it united the Black Belt and is preserving communities of interest while minimizing the number of county splits. The counterpoint is this, as seen from Terri Sewell, is that Alabama has defied the Supreme Court.” “The Supreme Court has ruled that the 2021 redistricting likely violated Section 2,” Jordan said. “There has never been a final ruling. The state is arguing that there has never been a final judgment, only a preliminary ruling, so the burden of proof is still on Milligan, Castor, and Singleton.” “We don’t know how that will play out exactly,” in the hearing on Monday, Jordan said. “There will be a lot of legal discussion between the judges and the attorneys.” Jordan said that the VRA had been misused at times in the past for gerrymandering. “One of the ways that it was misused was in drawing bizarrely shaped districts such as North Carolina District 12 (in 1990),” Jordan said. That redistricting snaked through multiple counties in North Carolina, connecting communities of color into a majority Black district. One consequence is that it made it easier for Republicans to win the neighboring districts. The Supreme Court rejected the gerrymandered District 12, Jordan explained. Jordan said that that decision was then used as a precedent in a 1990s case that he and Ferris Stephens brought challenging what was then Alabama state board of education district 4, where Jefferson County was in a school district with just the Black neighborhood of Tuscaloosa connected by a narrow lasso. The Court overturned the school board redistricting because it violated the North Carolina District 12 decision. Jordan said that Singleton has presented a map to the Court where Jefferson County is kept as a whole but is connected with Bibb to Hale and Perry Counties in the Blackbelt. Jordan said that this is dilution and thus would not pass legal scrutiny. Jordan said that the Court has declined to eliminate partisan gerrymandering. “The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that it couldn’t resolve partisan gerrymandering because it can’t make the decision on what is too much and what is fair,” Jordan said. “There is a lot of elite thinking that partisanship is distasteful. It may be, but it may be the best thing that
Details emerge from Perry Hooper Jr. sex abuse arrest
A former Alabama legislator who campaigned in the state for former President Donald Trump is accused of grabbing a restaurant hostess from behind and groping her before she was able to break free. Perry Hooper Jr., 67, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the August 16 incident in downtown Montgomery. He was charged with first-degree sex abuse, according to court documents, and released on a $15,000 bond. An affidavit filed with the arrest warrant alleges Hooper approached the woman from behind at the hostess stand and “grabbed the victim’s breasts and waist while shoving his pelvis against the victim’s backside. He then began kissing her neck before she was able to break free.” A text message to Hooper was not immediately returned. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf. State law defines first-degree sex abuse as subjecting a person to sexual contact by forcible compulsion. Hooper, a member of a prominent Republican family, served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1983 to 2003. He raised money for Trump in 2016 as chairman of Alabama Trump Victory in 2016. Hooper’s father, Perry Hooper Sr., was chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Prominent GOP leader Perry Hooper Jr. arrested for sexual abuse
Former State Rep. Perry Hooper Jr., age 67, was arrested on Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Service, Alabama Daily News reported. Hooper has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse. He was held on $15,000 bond. The alleged incident occurred at the 100 block of Commerce Street in Montgomery on August 16 at approximately eight p.m., reported WSFA. That is the address of the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown reported WSFA. Hooper was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in the election of 1983. He served five terms in the Alabama House. Hooper was one of five people that then Governor Robert Bentley interviewed as possible appointees for the U.S. Senate in 2017 following the resignation of Jeff Sessions. Hooper is an active member of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee representing Montgomery County. He is a frequently published political commentator who has had columns published across Alabama and beyond. Hooper was an early backer of Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary season and chaired the Trump Victory Fund in the 2016 campaign. The Trump bundler was a frequent visitor to the Trump Whitehouse as well as Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort in the years following the Trump presidency. Hooper is a licensed insurance salesman and registered state and federal lobbyist. He is a member of the board for the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, a prominent Auburn booster, and serves on the Board of the Montgomery Quarterback Club. The Alabama Republican Party has released a statement condemning sexual abuse. “The Alabama Republican Party strongly condemns all forms of sexual abuse and sexual assault,” the ALGOP said in a statement. “We are committed to personal rights and public safety. We will be monitoring this situation closely as it makes its way through the judicial process.” Hooper’s father, Perry Hooper Sr. – now deceased, was the first Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court since Reconstruction. Hooper is married and has three sons and a number of grandchildren. Alabama Today spoke to Daphne Attorney Harry Still III about this case. Still explained that sexual abuse in the first degree is a class C felony under Alabama law. “Section 13A-6-66. Sexual abuse in the first degree (a) A person commits the crime of sexual abuse in the first degree if he or she does either of the following: (1) Subjects another person to sexual contact by forcible compulsion. (2) Subjects another person to sexual contact who is incapable of consent by reason of being incapacitated. (b) Sexual abuse in the first degree is a Class C felony. Forcible compulsion means to compel by either: (a) use of physical force; or (b) a threat, express or implied, which places a person in fear of immediate death or physical injury to …self or another …, or in fear that he, she or another … will immediately be kidnapped. Someone is intoxicated to the point that they cannot give consent. Incapable of giving consent or incapacitated.” A Montgomery Police spokesperson explained that Hooper was arrested by U.S. Marshals because the Marshals have an agreement with Montgomery Police to arrest criminals charged with violent crimes. This charge meets that standard. Hooper, if convicted, faces a sentence of between one and ten years in prison and a fine up to $15,000. Hooper has simply been charged with a crime. All persons are presumed innocent until they are found guilty by a jury of their peers. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Political gadfly Perry Hooper Jr. arrested on sex abuse charge
A former Alabama legislator was arrested Tuesday on a sex abuse charge, police said. Perry Hooper, Jr., 67, was charged with first-degree sex abuse related in connection to an incident that occurred in downtown Montgomery on Aug. 16, Capt. Saba Coleman, a spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department, confirmed by email. The police department did not immediately provide details about the charge. However, state law defines first-degree sex abuse as subjecting someone to sexual contact when the person is incapacitated and incapable of giving consent or subjecting a person to sexual contact by forcible compulsion. Coleman said Hooper was identified as a suspect in the incident that occurred around 8 p.m. in the 100 block of Commerce Street in Montgomery. The area has several hotels, restaurants, and bars. He was taken into custody Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Task Force and then placed in the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Jail records show he was being held on a $15,000 bond. A text message to Hooper was not immediately returned. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf. Hooper served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1983 to 2003. His father, Perry Hooper, Sr., was the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Hooper campaigned and raised money for former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Hooper said he was chairman of the Alabama Trump Victory in 2016. Two other lawmakers served as the chairmen of Trump’s 2016 Alabama campaign. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama pols react to former Chief Justice Perry Hooper’s passing
Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Perry Hooper, Sr. died on Monday at the age of 91. Hooper’s passing leaft a void in the hearts of many around the Yellowhammer State who remembered him for his thoughtful, gentlemanly approach to Alabama’s most pressing legal problems, admirers of the late jurist said. “I am saddened to hear of the passing of former Chief Justice Perry Hooper Sr. today,” said Gov. Robert Bentley. “Chief Justice Hooper was the first Republican Chief Justice to be elected since Reconstruction, and he served our citizens with honesty and integrity during his time on the Supreme Court.” “He was a role model for many Republicans and valued public service. He was a Marine veteran and a strong family man. I know Alabamians join me in praying for his family, especially his wife Marilyn and their children, during this time,” said Bentley. Perhaps Hooper’s most significant legacy stems from his historic challenge to incumbent Chief Justice E.C. “Sonny” Hornsby in 1994. Hooper ousted Hornsby, a Democrat, and led the way for a sea change on the high court which saw all of the Democrats replaced by GOP judges within 10 years. The election resulted in an eleven-month ordeal involving recounts, extensive litigation, and heated legal argument in a Mobile court over thousands of absentee ballots later thrown out by a federal judge. “Throughout that litigation Chief Justice Hooper served as a model of quiet dignity and class,” said Bill Pryor, a federal judge and former Alabama attorney general, in a statement. Former Gov. Fob James, who swore Hooper in 1995 after he prevailed in a legal battle with massive ramifications from Alabama politics, called the late justice “a wonderful example for judges and public servants to know the law.” “He knew the law,” said James. “And he was absolutely fearless in doing upfront what was right.” State Auditor Jim Zeigler also put out a statement after Hooper’s passing. “An Abundant Life: Judge Perry Hooper Sr. Saying goodbye to a chapter of Alabama historic, a Southern gentleman, a founder of the Alabama Republican Party, and an All-American family man,” said Zeigler. “Court is adjourned.” Hooper’s son, Rep. Perry Hooper, Jr., currently serves in the Alabama House.
