Alabama Judge Nomination Sparks Tension

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2016/02/IMG_0705.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:2448;s:6:"height";i:2448;s:4:"file";s:20:"2016/02/IMG_0705.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:14:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-336x336.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:336;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-771x771.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:771;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-768x768.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:768;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"IMG_0705-1536x1536.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:1536;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"IMG_0705-2048x2048.jpg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:2048;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:18:"IMG_0705-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-311x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:311;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-265x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:265;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_0705-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Ashley Cleek
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:1279907;s:14:"optimized_size";i:685464;s:7:"percent";d:46.439999999999998;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:48:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:1045446;s:14:"optimized_size";i:520862;s:7:"percent";d:50.18;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-336x336.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:28694;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21488;s:7:"percent";d:25.109999999999999;}s:5:"large";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-771x771.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:105512;s:14:"optimized_size";i:68299;s:7:"percent";d:35.270000000000003;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-338x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:29316;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21878;s:7:"percent";d:25.370000000000001;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:24593;s:14:"optimized_size";i:18400;s:7:"percent";d:25.18;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-311x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:25668;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19100;s:7:"percent";d:25.59;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/02/IMG_0705-265x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:20678;s:14:"optimized_size";i:15437;s:7:"percent";d:25.350000000000001;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1591653000 
1456140688

With the death of Supreme Chief Justice Antonin Scalia, the fight over judicial appointments to federal judgeships has only grown more intense. Alabama’s seat on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has been vacant for two years. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama nominated federal judge Abdul Kallon to fill the seat.

Several prominent lawyers, judges, and U.S. Representative Terri Sewell held a press conference on Saturday in downtown Birmingham in support of Judge Abdul Kallon’s nomination to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sewell, who is a lawyer and has worked with Judge Kallon, said that his nomination will will a vacancy in the court and a void in diversity among federal judges. There are only two African American federal judges in Alabama, and only one African American judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The case for increasing the number of black federal judges in the state of Alabama is clear,” Sewell stated. “The selection of this nation’s federal judges should not be a partisan issue.”

Federal judges are nominated by the President and then confirmed or rejected at a Senate hearing. Following Kallon’s nomination by President Obama, Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby released a joint statement opposing the choice.

Kallon is currently a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Both Shelby and Sessions supported his nomination to that seat back in 2009.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals serves Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the court’s case backlog is considered a ‘judicial emergency.’

 

Supreme Court rules in favor of Black voters in Alabama redistricting case

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court's liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in Alabama's congressional map.

Voting rights marcher recalls being clubbed, hearing fatal gunshot during pivotal day of protests

Della Simpson Maynor was just 14 when she marched for voting rights in her hometown of Marion, Alabama. But while events in Alabama helped give birth to the Voting Rights Act, court cases originating in the state have led to its steady erosion over the years.

Alabama lawmakers close out 2023 legislative session

A proposal to exempt overtime pay from state income tax made it out on the last day. A bill that would have put more teeth in the state’s public records law did not.

As the US invests more in climate-smart ag, these Louisiana farmers could serve as a model

Climate-smart agriculture is getting a “once-in-a-generation” investment of $20 billion. Louisiana farmers show what a successful rollout could look like.

Supreme Court opened the door to states’ voting restrictions. Now a new ruling could widen them

The justices are expected to rule in the coming weeks in a new case out of Alabama that could make it much more difficult for minority groups to sue over gerrymandered political maps that dilute their representation.

Apply for the Gulf States Newsroom’s Sports & Culture Fellowship

The Gulf States Newsroom — a collaboration among public radio stations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, plus NPR — is seeking an early-career journalist to look beyond the scoreboard and report on how the region’s sports culture filters through everything from public policy to race relations to food. This position is a paid, one-year fellowship based […]

More Front Page Coverage