Sue Bell Cobb

Sue Bell Cobb is an American jurist and (since 2007) the current Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Cobb has previously served from 1995 to 2007 as a judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, the state court for criminal intermediate appeals. Before 1995, Cobb had served as a trial judge in state district court for many years.

Cobb is a Democrat, the only one on the Court. She was elected to the state supreme court in the 2006 elections, defeating Drayton Nabers, Jr., the Republican incumbent. Cobb is the first woman elected as Alabama's Chief Justice.

Life and career

Cobb graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in history, receiving the Phi Alpha Theta Scholarship Key. Cobb attended the University of Alabama School of Law, graduating with a J.D. in 1981. In law school Cobb was a member of the Bench and Bar Honor Society, Farrah Law Society, and Moot Court Board. Cobb was appointed as a judge of Conecuh County District Court immediately after being admitted to the bar, becoming one of the state's youngest judges. She was elected to the District Court in 1982 and re-elected in 1988.

As a trial judge, Cobb took assignments from about 40 counties. In 1997, Cobb was appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court to serve as the Alternate Chief Judge of the Court of the Judiciary. [http://www.judicial.state.al.us/judiciary.cfm]

Cobb was elected to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994 and served until becoming Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2007.