Judge Bill Lewis has made history with his appointment to the Alabama Supreme Court, becoming the first Black Republican to hold a seat on the state’s highest judicial body.
The announcement came Tuesday from Governor Kay Ivey, who named Lewis to replace outgoing Justice Jay Mitchell.
Before joining the Supreme Court, Lewis served on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, a position Ivey had appointed him to just last year. His judicial career also includes serving as the presiding circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit, covering Elmore County.
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“Judge Bill Lewis continues demonstrating justice and fairness under the law, as well as a willingness to serve the people of Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “His decades of experience will serve the Supreme Court of Alabama well, and I am confident he is the best choice.”
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Lewis now becomes the fourth Black justice in Alabama Supreme Court history and the first affiliated with the Republican Party. His three Black predecessors, Oscar Adams, Ralph Cook, and John England, were all Democrats.
Partisan statewide elections determine Alabama’s appellate judges, a system that has entrenched Republican dominance across high-ranking offices including the judiciary. For more than a decade, the Alabama Supreme Court has consisted exclusively of Republican justices. Since 2001, the bench had been entirely white.
In 2016, a group of Black voters filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alabama’s method of electing judges, arguing that statewide elections contributed to the absence of racial diversity on the courts. The suit, however, failed to change the system.
Lewis’s promotion to the Supreme Court leaves a vacancy on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and Ivey will appoint his successor.
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The man Lewis is replacing, Justice Jay Mitchell, stepped down Monday, citing plans to pursue a more direct political path. In a resignation letter to Ivey, he wrote:
“President Trump is moving boldly to restore the United States Constitution — and we must ensure that his agenda takes root not only in Washington, but also in the states.”
Mitchell, a Republican, is best known for penning a controversial opinion that classified frozen embryos as children, allowing couples to sue for wrongful death if embryos are destroyed. That ruling led to a temporary disruption in IVF services across Alabama, as clinics assessed potential legal exposure.
Mitchell has hinted at an upcoming announcement regarding his next political move.
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