Cullman County District Court Judge Terri Willingham Thomas has announced her candidacy for a seat on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Willingham is a republican who says she will campaign against judicial activism. Here’s a story about it from the Associated Press.
Thomas is seeking to fill the vacancy to be left by Judge Glenn Murdock, who has announced plans to run for the Alabama Supreme Court. The Court of Civil Appeals, which deals with family law cases like divorce, child support, adoption, and juvenile issues, currently is all male. Thomas says “I think we need a lady’s perspective on the court.”
As a sitting district court and juvenile court judge, Thomas is ideally situated to understand the most common complaint from trial judges about the current court of civil appeals, that it seems prone to reverse too often and honors the ore tenus rule only when it produces the result the appeals court desires.