Chris McCool
Republican | Alabama
Candidate Profile
Uncontested
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Chris McCool
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
Supreme Court Associate Justice, Place 1
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, BA, 1990
University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, JD, 1993
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Zion Primitive Baptist Church, Pastor
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
District Attorney, 24th Judicial Circuit (Fayette, Lamar, Pickens Counties), 2001-2018
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018-present
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (2)
Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) FARMPAC
Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
Alabama Forestry Association
ALFA
Business Council of Alabama
Manufacture Alabama
Alabama General Contractors
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
State Republican Party Organizations (2023)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2010)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Was Dobbs v. Jackson rightly decided according to the text of the Constitution? Please explain.
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. The only response I can give is to point you to my public writing in cases that have come before our court in the past, one of which is a special concurrence in Church v. City of Huntsville, 361 So. 3d 212, 218 (Ala. Crim. App. 2021).
I support a right to accelerate ending a human life.
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question other than to point you to my previous answer in question 1 above.
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question other than to point you to my previous answer in question 1 above.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States.
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question as fully as I might otherwise like. I can only say that the religious liberties guaranteed by the US and Alabama Constitutions should be applied and followed diligently by the Courts.
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian. I pastor a church (Zion Primitive Baptist Church near Gordo, AL) that believes in the Bible as the inspired word of God.
What is your view of parental rights regarding the upbringing of children, specifically education and sexual "identity"?
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
I support "gender identity" as a specially protected class. Please explain.
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
What do you believe to be true about the human condition?
I believe humanity fell from a state of innocence in the Garden of Eden, and is now tainted by the corruption of sin and is by nature totally depraved. The human condition is such that we need a Savior to completely save us, otherwise we are without hope!
EQUALITY
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
ABOUT YOU
What, if any, church or organizations do you belong to?
Zion Primitive Baptist Church
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
2014 Republican Primary 2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election 2022 Republican Primary 2022 General Election
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
Would you describe your judicial philosophy as originalist, living constitutionalist, or something else? Please explain.
Originalist; the language of the Constitution and other statutes actually MEANS something, and I believe that we as judges can find the original public meaning. We should do this instead of trying to make the Constitution “evolve” with the shifting mores of the culture.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
Which current or past U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia
Is there a separation of church and state in the Constitution? Please explain.
There are religious liberty protections in the Constitution, but the phrase “separation of church and state” does not in fact appear there. As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to comment further on this matter.
Should courts address threats to religious liberty in the United States? If so, how?
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
Was Obergefell v. Hodges rightly decided according to the text of the Constitution? Please explain.
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
Was Bostock v. Clayton County rightly decided under the law? Please explain.
Did not answer
I agree that “the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.” (Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 65-66 (2000); quoting Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166 (1944).
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
What should a judge do when legislative texts and court precedents dictate different results?
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
When should a judge overturn past court decisions?
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
When, if ever, should a judge take popular opinion or the social views of the majority into consideration?
Never.
Do you believe the meaning of the Constitution changes over time, absent changes through the amendment process of Article V?
No
What do you believe is the single most important quality a judge should possess?
Integrity and the willingness to follow the rule of law, without regard to power or favor. In the words of Moses in Leviticus 15:19, “ Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”
If you are an incumbent judge, describe a recent instance in which you acted to preserve your judicial independence. If you are an aspiring judge, how do you plan to remain independent if elected to the bench?
Did not answer
2ND AMENDMENT
The right to bear arms is fundamental and must be protected.
Choose not to answer
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Which branch of government do you believe was intended to wield the most authority?
As a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, I am not permitted by the Canons of Judicial Ethics to comment on a matter that might come before me as such Justice. I expect that this issue may well arise during my tenure, so I will not be able to answer this question. Otherwise, I would have to recuse from hearing the matter.
How should the court address public health and individual freedoms in the time of a public health emergency?
Rodriquez 2022 WL 2609075
