Published on August 1, 2011 at 7 p.m. by William Nunnelley  

Charles R. “Chuck” Malone of Tuscaloosa, Ala., a 1981 graduate of Samford’s Cumberland School of Law, has been named chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.  A former Tuscaloosa County presiding circuit judge, Malone was serving as chief of staff to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who appointed him chief justice Monday, Aug. 1

            Malone is the first Cumberland graduate to serve as Alabama’s chief justice, according to Cumberland Dean John L. Carroll.

            “Judge Malone brings a perfect balance of judicial and administrative expertise needed for this position,” said Governor Bentley at a news conference introducing the new chief justice.

            A Republican, Malone succeeds Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, a Democrat who was elected in 2006 but chose not to run for re-election in 2012.  She resigned earlier this summer, effective July 31.  Malone would face running for the chief justice post next year for a full term beginning in 2013, but said he had not thought of running for re-election.

            Malone, 57, was a lawyer in private practice in Tuscaloosa for 20 years, serving as president of the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association.  He was elected a Tuscaloosa County circuit judge in 2000 and re-elected in 2006.

             The new chief justice has served as an adjunct lecturer at Cumberland and at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Alabama, where he earned his undergraduate degree.

            He and his wife, Terri, are parents of two adult children.  The Malones are members of First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.

           

           

 

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.