---
title: "James Allen Main | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-allen-main-3640"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# James Allen Main

Supreme Court of Alabama · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Alabama
- State: Alabama
- Role: Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Supreme Court of Alabama, 2011-present
- Retired American jurist, pharmacist, and public official who held the role of an Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from January 14, 2011, until his retirement in January 2019
- Appointed: By Governor Bob Riley on January 14, 2011, to fill a vacancy after Justice Champ Lyons resigned.
- Previous judicial role: Judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals (2009–2011)

### Education

- Auburn University — B.A.
- The University of Alabama — J.D.
- University of Alabama School of Law

### Additional information

- Retired: Did not seek re-election in 2018 and retired in January 2019.
- Elected: Won a six-year term in the November 2012 judicial election.
- Appointed to the court by Republican Governor Bob Riley on January 14, 2011.
- Gene Robinson (2011).
- Practitioner, 2010-2010
- Director of Finance for the State of Alabama (2004–2009), serving as the state’s.
- Practitioner, 2008-2008
- He practiced in Anniston (1972) and Montgomery (1989)
- Born April 8, 1945, in Troy, Alabama.
- Date of birth: 1945
- Main also worked as the senior counsel to Governor Bob Riley and chief of staff and legal adviser to Governor Fob James.
- Senior Counsel to Governor Bob Riley and Chief of Staff/Legal Advisor to Governor Fob James.
- Judicial record: Authored 187 published opinions, including notable cases such as Benjamin L. Little v.
- Main began his career in pharmacy, later transitioning to law.
- handling numerous precedent-setting cases before.

## 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://www.courtlistener.com/person/3640/james-allen-main/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3640/james-allen-main/)
- [Supreme Court of Alabama current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3640/james-allen-main/)
- [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)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3640/james-allen-main/)
- [James Allen Main](https://ballotpedia.org/James_Allen_Main)
- [Wikidata: James Allen Main](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16731848)

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