James E. Hall II Announces for Lauderdale District Judge

Florence Municipal Judge James Edwards Hall II has announced his candidacy for Lauderdale County District Judge. Many have speculated that Hall would seek the nomination for Circuit Court judge to succeed Jimmy Sandlin. Sandlin has indicated he will not seek a second term in that position.

Still early in the race, we can only speculate on others who might choose to run against Hall in the Democratic primary. Many, including us at Shoalanda, were surprised that Hall was not Gov. Bob Riley's choice to finish out the term of retiring Circuit Court Judge Mike Suttle; Hall now would appear on the road to an easy victory in the June 2010 primary.

This presents the political conundrum of Hall opposing Republican Carole Coil Medley in the fall general election. Mrs. Medley is well-liked and has acquitted herself well since Gov. Riley appointed her to the office vacated by Deborah Bell Paseur. A race between Hall and Medley would be close to call, but more to the point, the necessity for such a choice sets Lauderdale County up for a tremendous loss of talent no matter the outcome.


From our editor, commenting on Andrew Scott's recent appearance on WAFF: "I haven't seen so many inappropriate smiles since Jimmy Carter was in office."

Shoalanda