On Monday, Alabama Supreme Court Justice James L. “Jay” Mitchell announced his resignation from office. According to Yellowhammer News, Mitchell stepped down in order to launch a campaign for the Republican nomination for Alabama Attorney General in 2026. Mitchell’s resignation coincided with the first day candidates can begin fundraising for next year’s primary elections.
Mitchell was reelected to the nine-member Alabama Supreme Court last year after first joining the court in 2019. Had he not resigned, Mitchell would have continued to serve on the court until his six-year term expired in 2030.
Born in Mobile in 1976, Mitchell went on to earn his undergraduate degree at Birmingham-Southern College before attaining his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Before his election to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018, Mitchell was a partner at the Birmingham law firm Maynard, Cooper and Gale, now Maynard Nexsen.
In his letter of resignation to Gov. Kay Ivey, first obtained by Alabama Daily News, Mitchell indicated a desire to be more vocal about his personal political beliefs and to further the Trump administration’s national agenda.
“Serving on the Supreme Court has been the privilege of a lifetime, but my role as a judge limits what I can say and do for our state and country,” Mitchell wrote. “President (Donald) Trump is moving boldly to restore the United States Constitution – and we must ensure that his agenda takes root not only in Washington, but also in the state. I feel called to play a larger role in that effort in Alabama.”
Mitchell also touted his “key judicial opinions that uphold Alabama’s criminal laws and keep violent offenders locked up; that protect the sanctity of human life and confirm the truth that life begins at conception; and that keep wokeness and DEI out of our courts and the legal profession.”
During his time on the Alabama Supreme Court, Mitchell authored the controversial February 2024 opinion which found that frozen embryos used in in-vitro fertilization procedures could be considered human beings under Alabama law. That ruling turned IVF protections into a national political issue, and ultimately led the Alabama Legislature to pass a law intended to grant IVF clinics legal safeguards against the ruling’s repercussions.
Now, Mitchell has thrown his hat in the ring to be Alabama’s next Attorney General, with current AG Steve Marshall’s second and final term set to expire next year. Mitchell will be able to repurpose leftover funds from his last Supreme Court campaign toward his run for AG, with those funds currently standing at just over $640,000 according to his latest campaign finance reports.
Mitchell is only the second Republican to announce their candidacy for the office ahead of the 2026 primaries after Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey announced her bid in January. Marshall’s longtime general counsel Katherine Robertson and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Lloyd Peeples have also been rumored to be eyeing the office.
Following Mitchell’s resignation, Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Judge Bill Lewis to fill his vacancy on the Alabama Supreme Court.
“Judge Bill Lewis continues demonstrating justice and fairness under the law, as well as a willingness to serve the people of Alabama,” Ivey said in an official statement. “His decades of experience will serve the Supreme Court of Alabama well, and I am confident he is the best choice.”
Ivey had previously appointed Lewis to serve on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in February 2024. Prior to that appointment, Lewis had served as the presiding circuit court judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit in Elmore County. Lewis has also worked as both a private and public attorney in the state, receiving his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law.
“Judge Lewis’ appointment is effective immediately. The governor’s appointment to fill Judge Lewis’ vacant seat on the Court of Civil Appeals will be announced soon,” the Governor’s office stated in the announcement.
