Associate Justice: 1980-1993
Born: February 07, 1925
Died: February 15, 1997
Son of a Birmingham newspaper publisher and great-grandson of a member of the Alabama Legislature, Justice Oscar Williams Adams, Jr. grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1944 from Talladega College. After earning his law degree from Howard University in 1947, he was admitted to the Alabama Bar and launched what would become a distinguished legal career that lasted over three decades. Starting in the early 1960s, Justice Adams' law firm - Adams, Baker, and Clemon - became one of the nation's leading firms handling complex civil rights cases, representing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the NAACP, and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1980, Adams was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alabama by Governor Fob James. In 1982, he successfully ran for the position. He was reelected in 1988, making him the first African American in the history of Alabama to be appointed and elected to a statewide constitutional office. When Justice Adams retired in 1993 he stated, "Unless we know where we came from, we are not going to know where we are going. Finally, we have made it and we have come where we were looking to go. We are hoping we can stand in our place and bring about complete equality."
Associate Justice: 1993 - 2001
Born: April 29, 1944
Justice Ralph Delano Cook, son of Joe and Nannie Cook, was educated in the public schools of Jefferson County and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned his B.S. degree in Political Science at Tennessee State University in 1964, and his J.D. from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1967. In 1968, Cook was admitted to the Alabama State Bar. A few years later, in 1973, he was admitted to the California State Bar. From 1976 to 1990, he was the Dean of Miles Law School, Birmingham. Cook also served as an assistant district attorney in Bessemer and was active in the private practice of law.
Justice Cook was elected to serve as a judge in the district court, and served in the Family Court of Jefferson County, Bessemer Division. This made him the first African American judge to serve in the Jefferson County trial courts. Appointed circuit judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, Bessemer Division in 1981, he was twice elected to that position. Following the retirement of Justice Oscar Adams, Jr., Justice Cook was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama in 1993. He was elected to that position in 1994 and served until his retirement in 2001. After his retirement, Cook entered private practice with the firm of Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, LLP, in Birmingham. Cook has received several awards for his service to civic and religious organizations throughout the state. On the occasion of his investiture to the Supreme Court of Alabama in 1993 he stated, "We can work together - men and women, rich and poor, all races and creeds - in short, every Alabamian, no matter from what background, can and must do work together for the good of the whole."
Associate Justice: 1999 - 2000
Born: June 05, 1947
Son of Willie Ann England and John Henry England, Sr., Justice John Henry England, Jr. was born in Uniontown, Alabama. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and attended Birmingham public schools. He graduated from Tuskegee Institute with a B.A. in Chemistry in 1969. Following graduation, he served as a Military Policeman in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1972. In 1974, England graduated from the University of Alabama Law School and began practicing law in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He remained in private practice until June 1993, when he was appointed by Governor Jim Folsom to the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court bench. He was elected to a full term in November 1994. From 1998 to 1999 he served as Presiding Circuit Judge. On August 20, 1999, Governor Don Siegleman appointed England to the Supreme Court of Alabama, making him the third African American to serve on the Supreme Court of Alabama. His appointment marked another historic milestone in that the Supreme Courts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the District of Columbia were the only courts in the country, at this time, with two sitting African American supreme court justices.
Justice England has been active in numerous civic and professional organizations, having served on the Democratic Executive Committee and as Past President of the Alabama New South Coalition. He served two terms on the Tuscaloosa City Council, and served on the Board of Trustees for the University of Alabama. He also held leadership positions in several civic, professional, social, and political organizations on the local and state levels.