Alabama Supreme Court: Role of Court in Key Corporate Cases

In recent races for the Supreme Court of Alabama, the subject of “judicial activism” and the Alabama Supreme Court’s rulings in favor of oil companies and drug companies have attracted significant attention. Some have criticized the Court’s rulings in the state’s cases against oil companies and drug companies as outcome-oriented decisions by judges interested in currying favor with large corporations. Others maintain that the majority of the Court was merely fulfilling its obligation to apply the law as written, regardless of the identity of the parties to the case. This paper will examine the accusations of favoritism against the Alabama Supreme Court since 1994, and put its decisions in their legal context.