Michael Bolin
2023 - Present
2026
1
Michael Bolin is a member of the Jefferson County Commission, Alabama, representing District 5. He assumed office on July 31, 2023. His current term ends on November 9, 2026.
Bolin ran in a special election to the Jefferson County Commission, Alabama to represent District 5. He won in the special general election on July 18, 2023.
Bolin served as a member of the Alabama Supreme Court from 2005 to 2023. To read more about judicial selection in Alabama, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[1] Bolin received a confidence score of Mild Republican.[2] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
Bolin was born and lives in Jefferson County, Alabama. In 1970, Bolin received his B.S. in business administration from Samford University. In 1973, he received his J.D. from Samford University Cumberland School of Law, graduating cum laude and on the dean's list.[3]
After his admission to the bar in 1973, Bolin practiced law in Birmingham until 1988. He was then elected probate judge of Jefferson County, a position to which he was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. He served as president, secretary, and treasurer of the Alabama Probate Judges Association. Bolin was elected in 2004 to the Alabama Supreme Court.[3]
Elections
2023
See also: Municipal elections in Jefferson County, Alabama (2023)
General election
Special general election for Jefferson County Commission District 5
Michael Bolin defeated David Silverstein and Jeff Wise (Unofficially withdrew) in the special general election for Jefferson County Commission District 5 on July 18, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Michael Bolin (Nonpartisan) | 59.3 | 5,736 | |
| David Silverstein (Nonpartisan) | 40.6 | 3,927 | ||
| Jeff Wise (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.1 | 13 | ||
| Total votes: 9,676 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Silverstein in this election.
2022
- See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2022
Michael Bolin was not able to file for re-election after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.[4]
2016
- See also: Alabama Supreme Court elections, 2016
Incumbent Michael Bolin ran unopposed in the general election for the Alabama Supreme Court, Place 1.
| Alabama Supreme Court, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Michael Bolin Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2010
- Main article: Alabama judicial elections, 2010
| Alabama Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Michael Bolin (R)
|
907,234 | 62.7% | ||
| Tom Edwards (D) | 537,966 | 37.2% | ||
- Click here for 2010 General Election Results from the Alabama Secretary of State.
Bolin was re-elected to the Supreme Court on November 2, 2010. He faced Democrat Tom Edwards in the general election.[5] Bolin defeated Tracy W. Cary in the Republican primary.[6]
2004 Election
On November 2, 2004, Bolin beat Democrat John E. Rochester to win a seat on the Alabama Supreme Court.[7]
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Bolin  |
No | Place 3 | Republican | 49.9% | 59.7% | |
| John E. Rochester | No | Place 3 | Democratic | 40.2% | ||
| Peggy Givhan | No | Place 3 | Republican | 17.1% | ||
| (No first name given) Holloway | No | Place 3 | Republican | 6.9% |
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Silverstein did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[8]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[9]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Michael
Bolin
Alabama
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Republican
- Donated less than $2,000 to Republican candidates
- Received donations from Republican-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
Bolin ran as a Republican to gain his seat on the Alabama Supreme Court. He donated $1,155 to Republican individuals and organizations. Bolin received donations and endorsements from Republican-affiliated organizations including the Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee, the Business Council of Alabama, and the Alabama Automobile Dealers Association.
Other Scores:
In a 2012 study of campaign contributions, Bolin received a campaign finance score of 0.67, indicating a conservative ideological leaning.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Bolin received a campaign finance score of 0.67, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was less conservative than the average score of 0.79 that justices received in Alabama.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[10]
Noteworthy cases
Driver's exams in multiple languages
A 2007 decision from the Alabama Supreme Court held that offering driver's tests in languages other than English did not violate a 1990 amendment to the Alabama Constitution declaring English to be Alabama's official language. The amendment states that the legislature "shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the state of Alabama."
Prior to the 1990 amendment, driver's exams had been offered in 14 languages. In 1991, the state Department of Public Safety began giving all driver's exams in English, though a lawsuit in 1998 prompted the department to again offer driver's exams in multiple languages.
The court's 5-4 decision upheld a lower court ruling stating that administering the test in multiple languages did not diminish the status of English as Alabama's official language. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb wrote for the majority, citing Gov. Bob Riley's (R) argument that people who took the exam in their native language could be better assimilated into the community because having a license improves access to education, employment, and shopping.
Four justices—Glenn Murdock, Lyn Stuart, Michael Bolin, and Tom Parker—dissented. Bolin wrote in his dissent: "The immigrants who came to Alabama by way of Ellis Island in the early 20th century did not have the benefit of a tortured construction of Amendment No. 509 and evidently 'assimilated' the wrong way — they actually learned the English language."[11]
State supreme court judicial selection in Alabama
- See also: Judicial selection in Alabama
The nine justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are selected through partisan elections for six-year terms. They appear on partisan election ballots statewide and face re-election if they wish to serve again.[12] For more information about these elections, visit the Alabama judicial elections page.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- licensed to practice law for at least 10 years;
- a state resident for at least one year;
- under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their terms expire).[13][14]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by popular vote, serving in that office for his or her full six-year term.[12][15]
Vacancies
Should a vacancy occur between regularly scheduled elections, which take place in November of even-numbered years, an interim justice is appointed by the governor. Any justice appointed in this fashion must then stand for election in the next general election occurring at least one year after taking office.[12][16]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alabama Judicial System, "Associate Justice Bolin," accessed June 7, 2021
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama Republican candidates far outnumber Democrats as qualifying for May 24 primary wraps up," January 28, 2022
- ↑ Press-Register "Supreme Court Place 2: Mike Bolin defeats Tom Edwards," November 2, 2010
- ↑ The Anniston Star, "Parker, Bolin win Ala. Supreme Court races," June 1, 2010
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2006 Election Information," accessed June 7, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Free Republic, "Alabama Supreme Court 'allows' drivers exam in Spanish," October 20, 2007
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Alabama Judicial System, "Qualification of Judges," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Judicial Retirement Laws, "Alabama: Mandatory Retirement Provisions Applicable Generally," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Minimum Qualifications for Public Office," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Justia, "Article VI, Alabama Constitution - Section 152," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steve Ammons (R) |
Jefferson County Commission District 5 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Alabama Supreme Court 2005-2023 |
Succeeded by Greg Cook (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Jefferson County Probate Court -2004 |
Succeeded by - |
 |
State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current judges | Tommy Bryan, Greg Cook, Chris McCool, Brad Mendheim, Jay Mitchell, William Sellers, Greg Shaw, Sarah Stewart, Kelli Wise | ||
| Former judges | Michael Bolin, Sue Bell Cobb, James Allen Main, Roy Moore, Glenn Murdock, Tom Parker, Tom Parker, Sarah Stewart, Lyn Stuart, Thomas A. Woodall | ||
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama
State courts:
Alabama Supreme Court • Alabama Court of Civil Appeals • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals • Alabama Circuit Courts • Alabama District Courts • Alabama Juvenile Courts • Alabama Municipal Courts • Alabama Probate Courts • Alabama Small Claims Courts
State resources:
Courts in Alabama • Alabama judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alabama