From an editorial in today’s Montgomery Advertiser: Parker deserves colleague’s criticism

It is extremely unusual, if not unprecedented, for a sitting state Supreme Court justice to hold a press conference to support one of his colleagues and oppose another. But that is what Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin did this week.

Bolin not only spoke out in favor of the candidacy of Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, but he openly was critical of Associate Justice Tom Parker, who is running against Nabers in the Republican Party’s primary on June 6.

Usually justices not up for re-election do not get publicly involved in another justice’s race, and it is almost unheard of for a justice to publicly criticize another justice with whom they have to work.

Bolin, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 2024, said he has worked with both candidates for chief justice for the past two years.

“While Tom Parker’s tenure has been marked by divisiveness, an activist judicial philosophy and an inability to do his job, Chief Justice Nabers is a hard worker and strong conservative leader who runs the court fairly, effectively and with integrity,” Bolin said.

This really is a wild race–and one can’t help but think that the working relationships at the Court will be quite damaged by Parker’s choice to challenge Nabers.

Bolin ran against, and beat, a Moore-allied candidate in 2024.