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Reflections on Fifty Years of Alabama’s Progressive Judicial System
December 11, 2023 @ 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm
The Florentine Hotel, 2101 2nd Avenue North, Birmingham, 35203
12:30 p.m. “The Power of Leadership in the Pursuit of Justice: Howell Heflin and the Adoption of the Alabama Judicial Article” ,
Introduction: Hon. William Sellers, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Alabama
Description: As Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Alabama, Howell Heflin was the primary force behind the efforts to transform the Alabama Judicial System into a model for the state courts in the U.S. As Chief Justice, and later U.S. Senator, Heflin recognized the dilapidated condition of Alabama’s court system and through strong leadership led the fight to restructure Alabama’s courts to create the Unified Judicial System.
Speaker: Tom Heflin, Esq.
Panelists: Mike House, Esq., President, Oak Grove Strategies, LLC, Rep. Ronnie Flippo, United States Representative, Ret., Hon. Ed Tease, Circuit Judge, Ret.
3:30 p.m. “The 50th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure”
Introduction: Hon. Greg Cook, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Alabama
Panelists: Hon. Champ Lyons, Ret., Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, Bruce McKee, Esq., Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton.
Description: The Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted fifty years ago, dramatically changed the practice of law in Alabama. Previously, litigants often lost cases due to technicalities. The new rules simplified practice and procedure in civil cases and secured “the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of cases on their merits.”
Sponsors: Supreme Court of Alabama, the Alabama State Bar, University of Alabama School of Law, Alabama Bench and Bar Historical Society