---
title: "Chris McCool | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/chris-mccool-al-supreme-court"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Chris McCool

Supreme Court of Alabama · Associate Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Alabama
- State: Alabama
- Role: Associate Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- James Christopher “J. Chris” McCool is an American judge and the incumbent Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, elected in 2024 and sworn in on January 24, 2025
- In January 2023, he announced his run for the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Justice Sarah Hicks Stewart
- 1998–2000: Adjunct professor in Trial Advocacy at the University of Alabama School of Law
- Municipal court judge in Reform and Pickensville

### Education

- University of Alabama School of Law in, serving on the Honor Court and as a member — J.D. (1993)
- B.A. summa cum laude in History and Classics (with a concentration in Greek) from the University of Alabama in 1990.

### Additional information

- He assumed office on January 24, 2025.
- On November 5, 2024, he won the election unopposed, receiving over 97% of the vote.
- In 2018, McCool was elected to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals without opposition.
- McCool has received multiple honors, including Prosecutor of the Year (2007, 2012) and District Attorney of the Year (2007).
- He graduated valedictorian from Pickens Academy in 1985
- McCool was born in Gordo, Alabama in 1967 or 1968.
- Member and officer of the Alabama District Attorneys Association

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### media recording photography broadcasting

Scope: statewide

Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 9.4 permits televising, photographing, or radio broadcasting of judicial proceedings only as provided by Alabama judicial ethics canons, law, or another court rule.

Evidence excerpt: The taking of television pictures or other photographs in or of the courtroom during the progress of judicial proceedings or the radio broadcasting of judicial proceedings may be permitted as provided in Canon 3(A)(7) and (7B), Canons of Judicial Ethics, promulgated by the Alabama Supreme Court, or as otherwise may be permitted by law or other rule of court.

[Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 9.4: Televising, photographing, or radio broadcasting of judicial proceedings](https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr9_4.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://judicial.alabama.gov/Appellate/SupremeCourt)
- [Official roster](https://judicial.alabama.gov/Appellate/SupremeCourt)
- [Alabama Judicial System official judicial roster](https://judicial.alabama.gov/Appellate/SupremeCourt)
- [Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 9.4: Televising, photographing, or radio broadcasting of judicial proceedings](https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr9_4.pdf)

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