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Alabama commission moves vacant Jefferson County judgeship to understaffed Madison County courts

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Alabama commission moves vacant Jefferson County judgeship to understaffed Madison County courts


The Alabama Judicial Assets Allocation Fee voted Thursday to maneuver a vacant circuit courtroom judgeship in Jefferson County to fast-growing Madison County.

Consequently, Tiara Hudson, the Democratic nominee for that Jefferson County seat who faces no Republican opposition in November, stands to have the job taken away earlier than she will be able to serve. This circuit seat, as soon as held by Choose Clyde Jones, at present processes prison instances.

In a public assertion launched late Thursday Alabama Supreme Court docket Chief Justice Tom Parker, who’s chair of the fee, stated this determination was made as a result of outcomes of the latest research of caseloads – the variety of instances a choose is assigned. That research, launched in January 2020, reveals there was an extra of seven.98 circuit judges within the tenth Judicial Circuit (Jefferson County) and a deficit of three.25 circuit judges within the twenty third Judicial Circuit (Madison County) when trying on the crucial variety of judges required for the caseloads.

“Whereas there’s a want for 20 judgeships throughout the State (12 circuit judgeships and eight district judgeships), the Legislature created this mechanism of reallocation to appropriate the wants regularly, though it is not going to handle your entire want, or the immediacy of the necessity,” stated Parker.

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The fee, shaped in 2017, was given the unique energy to reallocate judges as long as two thirds of the commissioners accepted.

Sen. Roger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, was current within the assembly and blamed defective information and an unwillingness to maneuver surplus state funds for the reallocation.

“I used to be very disenchanted as a result of three years in a row I discovered the excess of $12 million that they wanted to offer the 20 judges (12 circuit and eight District) for the state,” stated Smitherman. “The final fund funds for this 12 months has a surplus of $120 million they usually solely want $12 million for the judges. As an alternative of caring for all people within the state, the chairman of the committee refused to place that within the normal fund funds to be thought of by the total physique.”

Early this 12 months Chief Justice Parker launched a letter addressed to Gov. Ivey and members of the legislature highlighting the necessity for the 20 extra circuit judges within the state which used 2020 caseload research findings to determine Madison County as essentially the most in want of circuit judges and numbered Jefferson County as least in want out of the 41 judicial circuits listed.

Smitherman stated numbers for the workloads of every county had been skewed in research findings and said that in Jefferson a number of prices might be filed for a similar individual below one “case quantity” however in different counties corresponding to Madison these prices are all filed as separate instances due to this fact giving the phantasm of a heavier workload.

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Birmingham prison protection legal professional Emory Anthony Jr. believes this determination isn’t legally sound as a result of Hudson already being elected for the accessible seat and stated race was the rationale why the choice was made.

“There is no such thing as a different county that may say they’ve the variety of lawsuits and the variety of instances filed that we do. When you have a look at your historical past Jefferson County. has at all times been the county with essentially the most instances,” stated Anthony. “Not as soon as have they tried to sit from this county with a majority of white judges, despite the fact that Madison County has been quick on judges.”

Smitherman gave credit score to Parker for aggressively campaigning for the mandatory funding to acquire extra judges. However he additionally expressed considerations over motivations of race and politics, whether or not aware or not, and stated he felt this determination was a punitive motion towards a Democrat-heavy Jefferson County by an appointed board of largely Republican officers.

“It’s gonna create a extra harmful scenario for our residents in that now we have essentially the most homicide and assault instances in our circuit as a result of we’re the most important county. There is no such thing as a justification to take it (the seat) from us,” stated Smitherman. “It didn’t resolve the issue; all they did was shift deficiency from Madison to Jefferson County.”

Anthony and different members of the general public are recommending that Hudson sue over the lack of her place, however Hudson has not but commented on what her plan of action will likely be.

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Parker had not responded to requests by AL.com on Thursday for remark previous to publication of this story.



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Alabama

Walmart recalls popular product sold in Alabama, 1 other state for ‘possible spoilage’

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Walmart recalls popular product sold in Alabama, 1 other state for ‘possible spoilage’


For anyone thinking of cooking up warm soup to stave off the winter cold, there’s an important recall you need to know about.

Walmart has recalled 12,000 units of Great Value Chicken Broth sold in 48-ounce cartons in two states – Alabama and Arkansas. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the recall is due to the “potential for packaging failures that could compromise the sterility of the product, resulting in spoilage.”

The products have a best if used by date of March 25, 2026 with lot code 98F09234. They were sold in aseptic paper cartons and a total of 2,023 cases or 12,138 cartons were included in the recall.

The broth was produced by Tree House Foods Inc. of British Columbia.

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The FDA did not assign a risk level to the recall and did not report any incidents involving the products.

People with the broth should return it to Walmart for a refund.

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What Nate Oats called ‘a disaster’ in Alabama win over South Carolina

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What Nate Oats called ‘a disaster’ in Alabama win over South Carolina


Alabama men’s basketball won somewhat comfortably against South Carolina.

Plenty went right in the 88-68 victory over the Gamecocks on Wednesday in Columbia, South Carolina. Alabama shot 55%, outrebounded the Gamecocks, saw the bench outscore South Carolina 39-4 while scoring more points in the paint, fast break points and 3-pointers.

But there was something with which Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats was displeased.

Free throws.

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“Would have been better if we made some free throws tonight,” Oats said. “That was a disaster for us. But everything else … It was good enough to win tonight.”

Alabama finished 10-for-20 (50%) from the charity stripe, which was the lowest total of the season so far. The previous low was 51.4% against Kent State late in December.

Not a mark Oats wants, but it didn’t make a difference in the game. All the other ways Alabama scored, particularly in the first half, made free throws a non-factor. As a result, No. 5 Alabama (13-2, 2-0 SEC) beat South Carolina (10-5, 0-2).

“First road game for us in the SEC,” Oats said. “I thought our guys answered the bell pretty well.”

The free throws might have been a disaster, but there was plenty else that Oats liked. That includes the defense, which limited South Carolina to .971 points per possession.

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“I thought our defense was significantly better for the whole 40,” Oats said.

Oats specifically praised the efforts of Mo Dioubate. He finished plus-19 while matched up mainly against Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina’s leading scorer and a likely first-round NBA Draft pick.

“I thought Dioubate did a great job guarding him,” Oats said. “He really impacts the game in a big way,” Oats said.

Boyles-Murray tallied six points, four of which came from free throws, while finishing 1-for-6 from the field. He also had two turnovers.

“We got a lot of good efforts from a lot of people,” Oats said. “Good road win for us.”

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Next up, Alabama will face No. 10 Texas A&M on the road on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN)

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.





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Alabama Basketball Demolishes South Carolina in First SEC Road Game

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Alabama Basketball Demolishes South Carolina in First SEC Road Game


No. 5 Alabama men’s basketball won its first SEC road test over South Carolina 88-68 on Wednesday evening in relatively easy fashion.

One big reason for this being a must-see matchup was due to the reunion with former Alabama and current South Carolina forward Nick Pringle, who was a part of the Crimson Tide’s Final Four run last season. Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during Tuesday’s press conference that like most players facing their former team, Pringle will likely tell the Gamecocks about the Tide’s play style to try and gain an advantage well ahead of tipoff.

However, this was not the case early as Alabama cruised to a commanding 45-28 halftime lead. Crimson Tide Preseason All-American guard Mark Sears quickly lived up to that status as he started the game 6-of-7, with 16 points including 4-of-4 on attempts from behind the arc.

Sears’ effort certainly rubbed off on the rest of the team in the first half as Alabama’s 60 percent from the field (18-of-30), including a 6-of-11 clip from downtown. In addition to 13 assists, the Tide also grabbed six offensive rebounds, which led to seven second-chance points, scored 22 points in the paint and recorded five steals and three blocks.

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Crimson Tide center Clifford Omoruyi and conference-leading three-time SEC Freshman of the Week Labaron Philon also had a very solid first half on both ends of the floor to help contribute to the massive lead.

The start to the second half was a bit slower for Alabama, as after a poor play, Oats took out the entire starting five. One of the replacements was guard Aden Holloway who scored seven straight points for Alabama to regain the Tide’s momentum and build a more comfortable 56-39 lead with 15 minutes to go in the second half.

The importance of depth played a role in this one as Holloway led Alabama to 36 bench points while the Gamecocks had four. Furthermore, South Carolina’s secondary group didn’t score a bench point until there were less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

From there on, both teams traded buckets, but Alabama’s tremendous start kept the Tide composed and Gamecocks unable to make a massive comeback. Even when Alabama had scoring droughts, its defense prevailed in making sure South Carolina didn’t chip away. Forward Grant Nelson played a key role here as Gamecocks forward Collin Murray-Boyles, SC’s leading scorer coming into the game, finished 1-of-6 from the field.

In short, Alabama’s first half was significantly better than the second, but the Crimson Tide’s defense in the latter portion of the night made the offensive performance not matter as much. Of course, consistency in both halves will be important for the rest of the gauntlet of an SEC slate.

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Alabama improves to 13-2 (2-0 SEC) while South Carolina slides down to 10-5 (0-2 SEC).



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