Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0124

ME ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA • MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36131 2N. id, f2) CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL Honorable Joe G. Barnard Circuit Judge Jefferson County Courthouse Birmingham, Alabama 35203 MAR27111S 19- Doug- Courts - Circuit Judge - Term of Office in Jefferson County governed by Amend- ment 328. Dear Judge Barnard: I have your letter in which you requested an opinion of this office concerning whether the term of office to be filled by a circuit judge elected to fill a vacancy in Jefferson County is governed by Amendment 328 of the Constitution of Alabama 1901. Your question is answered in the affirmative. Section 6.14 of Amendment 328 prescribes the manner in which vacancies in judicial office shall be filled. That section provides in pertinent part as follows: The office of a judge shall be vacant if he dies, resigns, retires, or is removed. Vacancies in any judicial office shall be filled by appointment by the governor; however, vacancies occurring in any judicial office in Jeffetson County shall.. be filled as now provided by amendments 83 and 110 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901...A judge, other than a probate judge, appointed to fill a vacancy, shall serve an initial term lasting until the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January following the next general election held after he has completed one year in office. At such election such judicial office shall be filled for a full term of office beginning at the end of the appointed term. Amendments 83 and 110 of the Constitution mentioned in the above Section provides for appointments by a county judicial If our office can be of further help to you, please call on us. Very truly yours, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By- L A F. KNIGHT Assistant Attorney G LFK/sg Honorable Joe G. Barnard Page 2 MAR 271g0 commission to fill vacancies in judicial offices in Jefferson County. Amendment 83 also has a provision concerning the term of office of the one appointed to fill that vacancy. The question arises as to whether this provision was repealed by the provision of Section 6.14 of Amendment 328 regarding the term of a judge appointed to fill a vacancy. In order to make this determination, we should look at the intent of the framers of Amendment 328. It should be noted that Section 6.14,supra,makes a specific exception for Jefferson County concerning the manner in which a judge is appointed to fill a vacancy. However, no specific exception is made concerning the term of office of the one who is appointed to the office. Although an amendment does not in turn expressly repeal a constitutional provision or former amendment, if it covers the same subject as the former constitutional provision, the amendment will be regarded as a replacement for the provision and superseding it. Summers v. State, 244 Ala. 672, 15 So. 2d 502. Amendment 328 was intended by-the Legislature to institute uniformity in the state's judicial system. It is the opinion of the Attorney General , that Section 6.14 of Amendment 328 repeals that part of Amendment 83 concerning the term of office of a judge appointed to fill a vacancy in Jefferson County and the term of office of all judges appointed to fill a vacancy in the State is governed by Amendment 328. Therefore, your term of office is governed by Amendment 328 and you are not serving in the unexpired term of the former judge. You are now serving anew full term of office and will have to run for re-election in the general election in 1984, six years from the general election of 1978 in which you were elected to a full term.