Janie Shores
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2023) |
Janie Ledlow Shores | |
|---|---|
| Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court | |
| In office 1974–1999 | |
| Preceded by | James S. Coleman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Janie Lee Ledlow April 30, 1932 Butler County, Alabama |
| Died | August 9, 2017 (aged 85) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Fairhope, Alabama, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | judge law professor |
Janie Ledlow Shores (April 30, 1932
Early life and education
A native of
Career
After graduating law school, Shores practiced law in
Tenure on the Supreme Court of Alabama
In 1974, Shores ran for and won a seat on the Supreme Court of Alabama as a Democrat, winning the primary and running unopposed in the general election,[3] becoming the first woman ever to be elected to that court. "I hope it has now been demonstrated that women can hold these positions and can be elected in Alabama, and I hope I have had some small part in letting women know to do that is possible," Shores told the Birmingham News in an article that was published on March 29, 1995.
Consideration for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court
In 1993, shortly after U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice
In Jeffrey Toobin's 2007 book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, President Clinton is reported to have pulled Shores's name from a list and wondered whether she might make an appropriate Supreme Court nominee. Toobin notes that Shores was "utterly unknown in Washington legal circles and no one – not Clinton or anyone on his staff – had any idea where she stood on constitutional issues or much of anything else." Ultimately, Nussbaum is reported by Toobin to have become "increasingly embarrassed as the names came and went," and "decided to make a stand." Toobin reports that Nussbaum told Clinton, "You are not nominating Janie Shores to the Supreme Court. No one knows who she is. This is insane." Toobin notes that Clinton ultimately relented, and later wound up appointing Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the High Court. For Shores's part, she has said that she was very honored to have even been considered. "It was a great honor to be considered even though I didn't get it," Shores told the Birmingham News in an article that ran on March 29, 1995.
Clinton clearly held some respect for Shores, however. Less than two years later, in January 1995, Clinton appointed Shores to the State Justice Institute, a private, nonprofit entity that provides financial support to projects aimed at improving the administration and quality of state courts.[2]
Retirement
Shores chose not to run for re-election in 1998. This meant that her final day on the bench was in January 1999.
Shores served as a supernumerary justice until 2001, when
In 2004, Shores served as one of seven members of a special State Supreme Court that considered the appeal of the ouster of Moore as chief justice. The court was chosen at random from a group of retired but still active judges. On April 30, 2004, the panel voted 7–0 not to reinstate Moore.
Shores lived in Fairhope, Alabama.
Death
She died on August 9, 2017, at the age of 85 after suffering a stroke.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Profile of Janie Ledlow Shores
- ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Don F. Wasson, "Courts Open Term With Prayer", The Montgomery Advertiser (October 8, 1974), p. 7.
- ^ First female member of Alabama Supreme Court dies at 85[permanent dead link]
Bibliography
- Toobin, Jeffrey, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, Doubleday, New York, 2007, p. 67.