Sue Bell Cobb
| Sue Bell Cobb | |
 | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| Alabama Supreme Court | |
| Title: | Former Chief Justice |
| Service: | |
| Active: | 2007-2012 |
| Preceded by: | Drayton Nabers, Jr. |
| Succeeded by: | Charles Malone |
| Past position: | Court of Criminal Appeals Judge |
| Past term: | 1994-2007 |
| Personal History | |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Bachelors: | University of Alabama |
| Law School: | University of Alabama School of Law, 1981 |
Contents |
Sue Bell Cobb was the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. She was elected to the court, in the state's partisan elections, and was the only Democrat on the nine member court. Judge Cobb was also the first woman elected as a chief justice. She retired from the court on August 1, 2011. [1]
Biography
Justice Cobb is married to William J. Cobb, Executive Director of Governmental Affairs of Bell South. They have three children, Bill, Andy and Caitlin. She currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband Bill and daughter Caitlin. Cobb also plays the piano in her church.[2]
Education
Justice Cobb graduated from The University of Alabama, where she obtained a degree in History, receiving the highest scholastic award in that field of study, the Phi Alpha Theta Scholarship Key. In 1981, she earned her Juris Doctor Degree from The University of Alabama School of Law.[2]
Professional career
Immediately following her admission to the Bar, Justice Cobb was appointed as District Judge of Conecuh County, becoming one of the state's youngest judges. She was elected to that position in 1982 and re-elected in 1988. During her tenure on the bench, Judge Cobb accepted trial court assignments in approximately forty counties. In 1997, she was appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court to serve as the Alternate Chief Judge of the Court of the Judiciary. Justice Cobb is also a faculty member in the Alabama Judicial College. She was elected to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994, where she served until she took office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama in 2007. She defeated Republican incumbent Drayton Nabers, Jr. in the November 2006 general election.[2] As Chief Justice Cobb is eligible for a salary of $180,005 annually, which ranks 9th in the U.S. for the highest level state court. [3]
Awards and Associations
Awards
- State Winner of the Bishop Barren State Employee Public Service Award
- Distinguished Service Award, National Juvenile Detention Association
- Outstanding Service Award, Juvenile Probation Officer Institute
- Children's Voice Award
- 1999 Public Citizen of the Year Award, Alabama Chapter of the National Social Workers Association
- 1996 NAACP Political Achievement Award, Conecuh County Branch of the NAACP
- 1995 Montgomery Aadverstiser Woman of Acheivement Award
- 1992 Judicial Conservationist Award of the Alabama Wildlife Federation
- Volunteer of the Year Award, Wes Nowlin Award, and St. George Medal, American Cancer Society
Associations
- Past President, Alabama Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- Chair, Children First Foundation
- Honorary Member, Alabama Council on Crime and Delinquency
- Past Chair and member of the National Assembly, Board of the Alabama Division of the American Cancer Society
- Former board member, Campaign for Alabama
- Past member and officer, Evergreen Industrial Development Board.
- Member, Farrah Law Society Board of Directors
- Member, Montgomery Kiwanis Club
- Member, First United Methodist
Cobb takes particular interest in child advocacy and drug courts. She has advocated for at least one drug court per county by 2009-10, because she sees them as beneficial alternatives to traditional prison sentences.[2]
2006 Election
| Alabama Supreme Court, Chief Justice 2006 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Sue Bell Cobb (D) 
|
634,494 | 51.5% | ||
| Drayton Nabers Jr. (R) | 596,237 | 48.4% | ||
In the 2006 election[4], Sue Bell Cobb raised a total of $2,621,838.[5] For a complete summary of Judge Cobb's campaign contributions, visit Follow the Money: Sue Bell Cobb, 2006.
Notable decisions
- ExxonMobil Corp. v. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (2007)
In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court (Justice Cobb dissenting) voided the punitive damages portion of a $3.6 billion jury award against ExxonMobil. The state of Alabama sued ExxonMobil over disputed royalty revenues; compensatory damages were awarded in excess of $100 million, and punitive damages were awarded in the amount of $3.5 billion. The Supreme Court ruled in November 2007 that for the State to be awarded $3.5 billion in punitive damages relating to a fraud claim regarding the disputed royalty fees, the State had to prove 1) Exxon had a duty to disclose material facts that 2) were concealed or not disclosed, which 3) induced the State to act 4) to the State's injury, resulting 5) in actual damage to the State. On this burden the State failed on multiple grounds, necessitating the reversal of the punitive damages.
Judicial positions
Favors drug courts
Drug courts and community punishment programs are the answer to drug-addicted criminals and overcrowded prisons, according to Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. Speaking to the Rotary Club in Huntsville, she warned that unless the state court system gets an $8 million increase in its budget for the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, vital programs could be cut and 400 court employees could lose their jobs. Having been told that prisons are at 200 percent capacity, the state's first female chief justice said the drug court "is the single best way" of rehabilitating addicts and keeping them out of jail. "Community punishment is where it's at," she told the crowd of local business and government leaders. "It will literally turn lives around and save tax dollars." Drug courts keep nonviolent criminals out of jail by placing them into a community corrections program that includes counseling, community service, random drug testing and intensive monitoring.
In August, drug courts were operating in 18 counties. Today, Cobb said, they are in all but four of the state's 67 counties.[6]
External links
- Alabama Judicial System: Sue Bell Cobb
- Alabama Supreme Court
- 2005 Bama Blog Post
- Wikipedia: Sue Bell Cobb
- Sue Bell Cobb Commercial for Chief Justice
- Cobb promotes drug courts
- Cobb advocates reform
- Follow the Money: Sue Bell Cobb
- Cobb outspending Nabers
- Tuscaloosa News, "Alabama’s justice system needs serious reform", July 24, 2007
- Justice Cobb's 2011 State of the Judiciary address
See also
References
- ↑ The News Courier, "Alabama Supreme Court chief justice resigning August 1," June 29, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Alabama Judicial System: Sue Bell Cobb
- ↑ National Center for State Courts: Judicial Salary Survey
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, Certified Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money: Sue Bell Cobb, 2006
- ↑ Alabama.com "Chief justice says drug courts are the way to go", April 24, 2008
Expand navigation box(es) by clicking on the "show" link.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current |
Roy Moore • Lyn Stuart • Michael Bolin • Tom Parker • Glenn Murdock • Greg Shaw • Kelli Wise • Tommy Bryan • James Allen Main • | ||
| Former | Sue Bell Cobb • Drayton Nabers, Jr. • Perry Hooper • Harold See • Champ Lyons • Thomas Woodall • Patricia Smith • Ernest C. Hornsby • C. C. Torbert, Jr. • Howell Heflin • Richard Wilde Walker • Charles Malone • John C. Anderson (Alabama) • | ||
| |||||||
