Chad B. Coker - On Inside Track for Colbert District Judge?

Is Tuscumbia attorney Chad B. Coker destined to become the next Colbert County District Judge? Many think so, partially due to his association with current judge George Carpenter. Carpenter's son Andrew was law partner to Coker at the time of his death, and the elder Carpenter and Coker have remained close friends.

Like Polly Ruggles, Coker currently toils as a municipal judge. Officiating at both Russellville and Cherokee Municipal Courts, Coker also is prominent among Colbert County divorce attorneys and volunteers in the C.A.S.A. program. A graduate of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Coker is president of the Colbert County Alumni Association.

Many use municipal judgeships to boost their chances for county offices, but Coker may have lessened his via association with the small town of Cherokee. For many years Tuscumbia attorney Ben Gardner served as city judge for that rural Colbert town, only to be terminated by Mayor Mignon Willis, a friend of Coker who chose him to replace the popular Gardner.

We look forward to hearing Chad Coker's vision for Colbert County when he speaks at the Shoals Democratic Club Monday night.


What's up with this: Lauderdale County teacher Allen Wilson avoided an assault conviction Friday. Apparently it's all right for one teacher to strike another on school premises--just not so all right for a parent to do it.