Strongly Agree

Alabama does not have legislative history (in the sense of federal legislative history). In the federal system, Congressional Committees often create legislative history (or members give speeches) which are aimed at improperly broadening the text of a law. The objective (ordinary meaning - at the time of passage) should drive the judicial construction of a statute (or of a constitutional provision).

Antonin Scalia. I would also note my respect for Justices Thomas and Alito today. Finally, I would note that I attended Harvard Law with Justice Gorsuch. We worked on the Journal of Law and Public Policy ("JLPP") together. JLPP is sponsored by the Federalist Society. Justice Gorsuch is a strong originalist and a strong "textualist". In short, we think a great deal alike. With that said, we do not agree on everything. In particular, I disagree with his decision in Bostock (regarding the construction of Title VII); he simply read the words incorrect and I think violated the basic principle of "original public meaning" (meaning that language should be construed according to its ordinary meaning - at the time it was passed - not based upon some later meaning of the words).

There is no public health exception to the Constitution. I strongly agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's result in the OSHA vaccine decision, but I would go further and agree with the concurrence of Justice Gorsuch (emphasizing the non-delegation doctrine - that Congress cannot delegate such significant decisions to a regulatory agency). I disagree with the result reached in the CMS vaccine decision.

I believe Justice Alito was correct. It is not the role of any court or judge to legislate. It is the role of the court to interpret the laws - as they are passed - according to the ordinary meaning of words at the time they were passed. Justice Alito's opinion includes a number of attached, supporting documents (such as dictionary definitions). If Congress wants to expand Title VII, Congress should introduce, debate and pass such legislation. That is the way it is supposed to work.

I believe that role is narrow. A judge must enforce the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Alabama. However, the U.S. Constitution does not include such express language. Instead, there are "establishment" and "free exercise" clauses (both in the First Amendment). I fear that some prior court decisions have construed the "establishment" clause so broadly that it is infringing on the "free exercise" clause. I hope the U.S. Supreme Court will begin to revisit its "establishment" caselaw and I would intend to review cases in light of my fear of infringing on the free exercise clause.

Strongly Agree

In general, I believe in stability in the law. Our citizens are entitled to rely upon existing law and court decisions. It is simply not fair for citizens to be surprised by changes in the law. With this said, if a past court decision is clearly wrong, it should be overruled. I would want clear briefing and argument before overruling past caselaw so that all parties to the lawsuit (and hopefully any other interested parties in the state) were aware that the court was considering overruling past precedent.

I believe it is a mistake for judges to discover rights which are not described in the Constitution. This is simply imposing the will of the judge, instead of deferring to the public who enacted the Constitution. Every judge should approach every case with a sense of humility and an understanding of their role. With all of this said, technology is different today than in 1787; therefore the language of the Constitution must be applied to the facts of modern life. For instance, the Fourth Amendment provisions on unreasonable searches must be applied to cell phones. However this is not a recognition of a new right; it is merely an application of an existing right to new facts.

I am deeply concerned with any medical procedures/drugs administered to a minor child relating to gender changes for which a parent has not given express approval. Without prejudging any case, I cannot presently think of the arguments to support such a position.

Based upon current precedent, the Alabama Constitution does not provide an express right of assisted suicide. Without prejudging any case, I cannot presently think of the arguments to support such a position based upon the current language of the Alabama Constitution.

I am an originalist - based upon "original public meaning". This means that I will follow the ordinary public meaning of the words of any Constitutional or statutory language at the time it was enacted.

No

The job of the Alabama Supreme Court is to handle appeals. I have 41 reported appeals opinions - either in the Alabama appeals courts (including the Supreme Court) or in the Federal Courts of Appeal. The Alabama Supreme Court has appointed me to their Standing Committee on Civil Rules (to draft and revise the rules of court). I am the author of the leading treatise in Alabama on the Rules of Civil Procedure (which govern court proceedings). I graduated from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude in 1991, and served as Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Journal of Public Policy. I have handled a wide variety of cases over my 30 year career, including trying jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations. These include smaller cases (such as District Court proceedings, car crashes, lease disputes, financing cases, insurance disputes, workers compensation, and many real estate claims) and very large matters (such as class actions, antitrust claims, energy claims with Enron and related entities, international criminal bank fraud claims, and matters involving claims of over a billion dollars). My experience includes cases in over 40 of the Alabama counties and over 15 different states. I have received almost every rating and award that litigators can receive including: Chambers USA, BTI Client Service All-Star, Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation, Consumer Law, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions, Real Estate), Martindale-Hubbell AV, Mid-South Super Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation (Commercial Litigation, Antitrust Litigation, Energy and Natural Resource Litigation). I am a Fellow in the American Bar Association and in the Birmingham Bar Foundation. I serve on the governing board of the American Bar Association's Litigation Section (among many other positions which I have held with the ABA) and have previously served as Chair of the Business Torts and Antitrust Section of the Alabama Bar (among many other positions with the Alabama Bar and the Birmingham Bar, including serving on the Grievance Committee and the Board of Bar Examiners as a Subject Matter Expert). In addition to authoring the Treatise on the Alabama Rules, I have edited (and co-authored) two additional books for the American Bar Association. I have also published articles in the Alabama Lawyer (published by the Alabama State Bar), the Birmingham Bar Bulletin (published by the Birmingham Bar), the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, the Alabama Law Review (forthcoming), multiple ABA newletters, Law360, and JD Supra (among others). I have spoken widely including at many legal education functions including recently for the Montgomery Bar, the Madison County Bar, University of Alabama (CLE Alabama), University of Alabama Law Review, American Bar Association, Birmingham Bar Association, Alabama League of Municipalities, Georgia Bar CLE, and University of Michigan Law School (among others).

I have been a Republican for my entire professional career and I don't just talk the talk – I walk the walk: (1) Delegate for Donald Trump 2020 (also elected by the delegation to be on Credentials Committee), (2) General Counsel to the Alabama Republican Party for almost 5 years, (3) Volunteer for elections for the Alabama Republican Party for 30 years including: (a) Tried an election lawsuit to set aside an election, (b) Conducted a recount during a primary, (c) Served as the “hotline” for election problems on many election days for the Alabama Republican Party, (d) Traveled to Florida as a volunteer for the Republican Party in the Bush v. Gore hanging chad fight, (4) Member of Alabama Republican State Executive Committee since 2006, (5) Legal Counsel to Jefferson County Republican Party for over a decade. I am qualified: (1) Handled over 1000 cases all over the state (40 counties) and all over the country (15 different states), including small and large cases (car crashes to billion dollar class actions), (2) Very experienced in appeals cases (41 reported appeals opinions as counsel; also argued before the Alabama Supreme Court), (3) Author of two volume book on the Alabama Court rules, (4) Appointed by Alabama Supreme Court to the Committee to make Rules for the Courts, (5) Graduated from Harvard Law School with high honors (and worked on the Federalist's Society's conservative law journal with Neil Gorsuch – President Trump’s first US Supreme Court appointment). I believe in public service: (1) I am a member at Dawson Baptist where I have taught Youth Sunday School since 1994 and I am a Deacon, (2) I am a Vice President in the Greater Alabama Boy Scout Council (both of my sons are Eagle Scouts and I have been awarded the highest adult award by the council – the Silver Beaver), (3) I am a veteran of the United States Air Force (this is how I earned my way through college and law school)

2012 Republican Primary 2012 General Election 2014 Republican Primary 2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election

It is my best recollection that I voted in every Republican Primary and in every general election in the last 20 years or more. However, because I have been so active as a volunteer for the Republican Party and therefore done so much traveling on election day, I cannot be certain that I haven't missed voting for a particular year (especially because sometimes my travel on election day has been unexpected).

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

I received Jesus Christ as my personal savior when I was 7 years old and was baptized then. I have a personal relationship with Christ and trust him with my life and the decisions for my life. I have served as a Sunday School teacher since 1994 and served as a Deacon at Dawson Baptist. All three of my children were dedicated, received their First Grade Bible, and were baptized at Dawson Baptist.

I have spent 30 years working as a volunteer for the Alabama Republican Party. My legal work for the Party has centered on elections. I have been deployed to many counties on election day to represent the Party. I have handled multiple lawsuits for the Party. I have tried an election contest lawsuit for the Party. I went to Florida for the Bush-Gore hanging chad fight. All of my work - over 30 years - has been pro bono for the Alabama Republican Party (and for the Jefferson County Republican Party). In addition to my hundreds (or perhaps thousands of hours) of pro bono work for the Party, I have volunteered for the Alabama State Bar's Wills for Hero's Program to provide free wills for First Responders. I have also volunteered for the Volunteer Lawyers Program which is run by the Birmingham Bar. In that role, I have assisted individuals with many different types of legal problems (these include, for instance, disputes over tax deeds, disputes over car purchases, disputes over lice infestations). All of these were individual problems of individuals who did not understand the legal system.