Supreme Court Chief Justice resigning post Aug. 1

Associated Press

Cobb

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb said Wednesday that she is resigning effective Aug. 1 to spend more time with her family after serving more than four years as state's first female chief justice.
Cobb made the announcement from the bench in the Alabama Supreme Court chamber with her husband, Bill Cobb, at her side. She read for about 15 minutes from a statement and then walked out a rear door without answering any questions from news reporters.
She said she regretted resigning at a time when the state court system faces funding shortfalls and has had to lay off staff and delay some trials.
"I desperately wanted to depart leaving the system on better financial footing than when I came," Cobb said.
She cited the need to be a "better wife, mother and daughter" as a reason for stepping down.
"My mother is 87 and my daughter, Caitlin, is 15. Another statewide race at this point in time would require me to raise millions of dollars while constantly endeavoring to appear and remain impartial and would require me to sacrifice precious time which I could be spending with my family," Cobb said.
Cobb said she was frustrated that she had been unable to persuade the Legislature to change the way Alabama elects judges. Cobb prefers a nonpartisan system.
She will make about $150,000 a year in retirement, according to Retirement Systems of Alabama records.
Cobb is currently the only Democrat on the Supreme Court and among Alabama's 19 appeals court judges. It will be up to Republican Gov. Robert Bentley to appoint someone to serve as chief justice for the remaining 18 months of Cobb's term. She urged Bentley to appoint an experienced trial judge, "someone who understands that the most important aspects in people's lives are impacted by the court system."
Bentley said in a statement that he had no timetable for appointing a new chief justice, but would do so as soon as possible once Cobb leaves office.
"My goal is to find someone with the judicial and administrative experience needed for this important position," Bentley said.
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead said the GOP was planning to target in the 2012 elections winning the chief justice's seat and presidency of the Alabama Public Service Commission, currently held by Democrat Lucy Baxley. Those are the only statewide offices in Alabama not currently held by Republicans.
"It's always been our plan to target the chief justice position and this doesn't change our plans at all," Armistead said. "We've made that known from the very beginning."
Armistead said he admires Cobb for putting family considerations ahead of political plans.
"I respect and admire the fact that she wants to spend more time with family," he said.
Alabama Democratic Party chairman Mark Kennedy said Cobb has shown an ability "to stretch the dollar" during the budget crisis.
"She has worked tirelessly to help further cost-cutting reforms such as modgel drug courts," said Kennedy, a former Supreme Court justice.
"I can certainly appreciate the magnitude of the challenges she had faced.
During the past session, Cobb pushed hard for the Republican controlled Legislature to pass legislation reforming Alabama's sentencing procedures, which she said would have saved the state millions. Kennedy criticized the Legislature for rejecting the sentencing reform legislation.
"The Republicans' crippling budget cuts and unwillingness to take up desperately-needed sentencing reforms have made administering the court system nearly impossible," Kennedy said.
Cobb was elected chief justice in 2006, defeating then Chief Justice Drayton Nabors to become the only Democrat on the high court. She has been a judge in Alabama for 30 years, serving as a district judge in Conecuh County and as a judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
Supreme Court Justice Jim Main, who served as finance director under former Gov. Bob Riley, said Cobb's announcement caught him by surprise.
"I didn't know about this until this morning," Main said. "She has done a good job administering the court system."
Main praised the way Cobb has dealt with the financial crisis facing the state's courts.
"She has had to be the bearer of bad news," Main said.
Riley appointed Main to the Supreme Court earlier this year to fill the unexpired term of former Justice Champ Lyons.
Main said he would not be interested in seeking the chief justice's job and instead plans to run for a full term in his position on the court.