---
title: "William C. Thompson | KnowJudges"
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# William C. Thompson

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama
- State: Alabama
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1997-present
- William Cooper Thompson is a former Presiding Judge of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, serving from 2007 until his retirement on February 1, 2024
- Also Chief Judge of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for ten years and a Fellow in the Alabama Law Foundation Alabama Judicial System
- Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism

### Education

- The University of Alabama — B.A.
- J.D. — Cumberland School of Law at Samford University

### Additional information

- Thompson was first elected to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in 1996 and reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020.
- He became Presiding Judge in 2007 and, at retirement, was the longest‐tenured judge among all three of Alabama’s statewide elected courts.
- Practitioner, 1996-1996
- Born January 1962.
- Date of birth: 1962-01-01
- Thompson previously worked in private practice and served as assistant legal advisor to former Governor Harold Guy Hunt.
- Bench and Bar Relations Task Force
- Legislative Coordinating Conference
- Appellate Rules Committee
- Executive Committee of the Judicial Inquiry Commission
- Before joining the appellate bench, he practiced law in Birmingham and Montgomery, held the role of assistant legal advisor to the Governor of Alabama, and worked in the law firm of former Chief Justice Perry O. Hooper, Sr. Alabama Judicial System.
- Advisory Committee on Child Support Guidelines

## 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/6131/william-c-thompson/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6131/william-c-thompson/)
- [Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6131/william-c-thompson/)
- [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/6131/william-c-thompson/)
- [William C. Thompson - Historical Society of the New York Courts](https://history.nycourts.gov/biography/william-c-thompson)
- [William Thompson (Alabama) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_Thompson_(Alabama))

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