Michael Bolin
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Michael F. Bolin has served on the Alabama Supreme Court since 2005. He was first elected to a six-year term on the court in 2004. His current term expires in 2010.
Alabama is one of eight states that picks state supreme court justices in partisan elections; Bolin has run for the office as a Republican.
Background
Legal education
In 1970, he received his B.S. in Business Administration from Samford University. In 1973, he received his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law, graduating cum laude. At Cumberland, he was on the Dean's List and served as Associate Editor of the Cumberland-Samford Law Review. He was later inducted into Curia Honors, Cumberland's leadership and honor society.
Legal experience
Bolin was a practicing attorney in Birmingham from 1973 through 1988, when he was elected as Probate Judge of Jefferson County. He was re-elected to that position in 1994 and 2000. He served in that position until his election to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2004, and began serving as an Associate Justice on that Court in January 2005.
Awards and Associations
Justice Bolin was active in the Alabama Probate Judges Association, serving as chairman of various association committees. He was elected by his peers as President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Probate Judges Association. He served on the Children's Code Committee, Probate Procedures Committee, Adoption Committee, and Paternity Committee of the Alabama Law Institute. He authored the Putative Father Registry law in Alabama, which protects the rights of all parties in adoption proceedings. He received the national award from the "Angels of Adoption" organization in Washington, D.C. in 2000 for his service to adoptive families. He additionally served as Chief Election Official, Chairman of the Alabama Electronic Voting Committee, and as Vice Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Consolidation, Efficiency, and Funding in 2003. He is a member of the Vestavia-Hoover Kiwanis Club.
Political Affiliation and Campaign Contributions
Republican. In his 2004 election for the Alabama Supreme Court, Bolin raised $1,684,412. Business Associations gave the most, $1,043,000, then the Automotive Industry, giving $110,750, and the third largest industry in giving to Bolin's campaign is Lawyers and Lobbyists, giving $91,570.[1] For a complete summary, visit Follow the Money: Michael Bolin.
Court allows drivers exam in Spanish
In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court said the ProEnglish group presented no evidence that administering the test in multiple languages diminishes English as Alabama's common language. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Gov. Bob Riley and other state officials. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb cited the governor's argument that permitting people with limited English proficiency to take the written portion of the exam in their native language helped them get a license, and the license fostered their assimilation into the community by increasing their access to education, employment and shopping. Four justices — Glenn Murdock, Lyn Stuart, Michael Bolin and Tom Parker — said the case should have gone in favor of the plaintiffs.[2]
Supreme Court rules for foreign language on drivers' licenses
By a one-vote margin, the Alabama Supreme Court turned down an appeal by five Alabama members of ProEnglish who had sued to overturn the state’s policy of giving driver’s license exams in foreign languages, which they charged violated the state constitution. Alabama voters adopted Amendment 509 to the Alabama Constitution in a 1990 statewide referendum by an overwhelming 9-1 margin. The amendment reads in part, “English is the official language of the state of Alabama…..The legislature and officials of the state of Alabama shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of English as the common language of the State of Alabama is preserved and enhanced.” Five members of the Alabama Supreme Court agreed to accept Alabama Governor Bob Riley’s argument that letting immigrants take driver’s license exams in their native language actually conformed to the constitution because it promoted their assimilation “by increasing their access to education, employment, and shopping.”
“This is an incredibly bad decision in which the Court’s majority agreed to suspend common sense, twist the meaning of words, and ignore evidence in order to defy Alabama’s constitution and overrule the express will of the people of Alabama,” said ProEnglish executive director K.C. McAlpin. Four Alabama Supreme Court Justices, led by Judge Glenn Murdock, joined in a scathing dissent. Quoting a standard legal encyclopedia, he wrote “Constitutions are the result of popular will, and their words are to be understood ordinarily as used in the sense such words convey to the popular mind.” Judge Michael Bolin added, “What the officials of Alabama have accomplished in offering the written portion of the driver’s license test in 12 (so far) foreign languages, is to revise Amendment 509 into a ‘blank paper by [judicial] construction…’”[3]
See Also
External Links
- Members of the Court
- Alabama Judicial System: Michael Bolin
- Alabama Judicial System
- NNBD.com
- Supreme Court rules 5-4 that State Bar can't reprimand Judge DuBose
- Follow the Money: Michael Bolin
- the Center for Political Accountability
