Judge: Alabama’s method of electing appellate judges not discriminatory

Alabama’s method of electing appellate judges does not dilute the voting power of blacks, a Montgomery federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case brought against the state by the Alabama NAACP.

The group contended that Alabama’s at-large elections of appellate judges – instead of electing the judges by districts – disenfranchises black voters and is the reason why there have been no black state appellate civil and criminal judges and only three African-American judges on the Alabama Supreme Court in the last 36 years.

Wednesday’s decision comes two days after a federal appellate court ruled that the state could be sued over the alleged violations.

U.S. District Court Judge Keith Watkins ruled Wednesday there are several reasons why the method of electing appellate judges is not discriminatory, including that the plaintiffs did not prove racial discrimination is a factor in implementing at-large elections and that the decline of the Democratic Party in the state and the scarcity of black candidates running for appellate judgeships contributed to the reasons why there has not recently been an African American elected to these judgeships.

“Notwithstanding the recent minimal representation of black-preferred candidates on Alabama’s appellate courts, the evidence demonstrates that reasons other than race better explain the defeat of black-preferred candidates in Alabama’s appellate judicial races,” Watkins wrote.

The judge said he found no basis for racial discrimination in Alabama’s system.

“Based on the evidence, Alabama’s at-large, statewide system of electing appellate judges today is benign of racial hostility … and is not racially discriminatory either in its adoption or maintenance,” he wrote.

The verdict was hailed by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who defended the state against the NAACP.

“We presented evidence, and the court agreed, that Alabama’s method of electing appellate judges is not designed to discriminate against African Americans and that it does not discriminate against them,” Marshall said in a statement. “Alabama’s statewide system of electing appellate judges was first approved more than one hundred years ago and is similar to election methods used in other States. Election outcomes are the result of partisan shifts in the State’s voting population and not due to an intent to favor or to disfavor any particular ethnic group.”