Joseph S. Johnston (judge)
Encyclopedia
Joseph S. Johnston is a Circuit Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit in State of Alabama
. Appointed by Governor Fob James
in April, 1997, Johnston became the first Republican to ever hold a circuit or district judgeship in Mobile County. Elected without opposition 1998, 2000 and 2006.
) in 1977. Rusty received B.A. in history from the University of Alabama in 1981. Received J.D. in 1984 from the University of Alabama School of Law. While attending the University of Alabama Johnston served as the Reagan for President Committee Chairman (1979–1980), the University of Alabama College Republican Chairman (1980–1981) and the Alabama State College Republican Federation Chairman (1982–1983). While attending law school, he founded a chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. That chapter still exists today.
, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
in 1995 to the Certificate of Need Review Board of the State Health Planning & Development Agency, which licenses new hospital and nursing home beds as well as new medical equipment. He was appointed by Chief Justice Perry O. Hooper to the Committee on Sentencing, Unified Judicial System Study Commission. This commission recommended the establishment of sentencing standards and "truth in sentencing". Chief Justice Perry O. Hooper appointed Johnston as Chairman of the Administrative Office of Courts Form Committee 1998-2005, which had the responsibility of reviewing and redrafting hundreds of official forms which the court system uses.
In 2001, in response to a statewide revenue shortage in the court system, Chief Justice Roy Moore appointed Johnston Chairman of the Court Cost Enforcement Committee. This committee recommended over two dozen ways that court costs, fines and restitution could be better collected.
Johnston was, a longtime member of the Mobile County and Alabama Republican Executive Committees. He served as Chairman of the Mobile County Republican Party from 1986 to 1990 and Vice-Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party from 1995 to 1997. Additionally, he was elected a delegate to and attended the 1996 Republican National Convention, pledged to Pat Buchanan
.
Johnston is presently a member of the Mobile, Alabama
and American Bar Association
s, the Alabama Circuit Judges Association, American Judicature Society
, and Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy and the American and Mobile Inns of Court from 1998–present.
In addition to a lifelong study of law and politics, Johnston is an avid amateur astronomer and is a member of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
.
Johnston is an active shooter and is dedicated to preserving the shooting and firearms heritage of the United States. He is a member of the National Rifle Association
and Second Amendment Foundation
. Johnston is also the active manager of a family limited liability company that owns approximately 1000 acres (4 km²) of timberland in Mississippi and is involved in forestry and ecology issues in the State of Mississippi.
Johnston is married and the father of two children. He and his family are active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He is involved in juvenile diabetes support issues and is a dedicated long distance bike rider having recently completed a 58 miles (93.3 km) bike trip in a little less than five hours.
In 2007, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Harold See
announced he would not seek re-election. Johnston was the subject of much media speculation throughout the state of considering a statewide campaign to succeed Justice See. Johnston has denied interest in seeking this position in statewide media reports.
Judge Johnston is a contributor to legal education programs in Alabama and the Mobile Metropolitan area. Below is a partial list of programs presented in recent years:
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Appointed by Governor Fob James
Fob James
Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...
in April, 1997, Johnston became the first Republican to ever hold a circuit or district judgeship in Mobile County. Elected without opposition 1998, 2000 and 2006.
Education
A native and lifelong resident of Mobile, born on March 15, 1959. Attended both public and private schools in Mobile, graduating from University Military School (now UMS-Wright Preparatory SchoolUMS-Wright Preparatory School
- History :The UMS-Wright Preparatory School has its foundation in the life of one man—Julius Tutwiler Wright. His goal was an education for the whole person-mental, moral, and physical-intensively tailored to the needs of the individual student. His goal remains central today to the educational...
) in 1977. Rusty received B.A. in history from the University of Alabama in 1981. Received J.D. in 1984 from the University of Alabama School of Law. While attending the University of Alabama Johnston served as the Reagan for President Committee Chairman (1979–1980), the University of Alabama College Republican Chairman (1980–1981) and the Alabama State College Republican Federation Chairman (1982–1983). While attending law school, he founded a chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. That chapter still exists today.
Private Law Practice
During his years in private practice, Johnston was admitted to practice before the Alabama Supreme CourtAlabama Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...
, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Notable Cases
- Roe vs. Alabama, 68 F.3d 404 (11th Cir.1995) Johnston served as co-counsel for Judge Perry O. Hooper, the Republican nominee for Alabama Chief Justice. Hooper won the election by several hundred votes, but after the election there was an attempt to count unwitnessed absentee ballots. Johnston and co-counsel were successful in getting a U.S. District Court to stop the counting and further had this practice declared unlawful. This is one of the main case, cited for the proposition "you can't change the rules after the election is over".
- State of Alabama vs. Leonardo Carson CC-02-03-4216, CC-02-03-7054. Dallas Cowboys Defensive Lineman,Leonardo Carson, was charged in 2003 with Fist Degree Burglary and Second Degree Kidnapping, both serious offenses in Alabama (and probably the rest of the civilized world). The case was specially prosecuted by Baldwin County District Attorney, David Whetstone. Johnston confirmed a plea bargain between Whetstone and Carson's attorney which resulted in felony charges being dropped and Carson pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Carson ageed to a 30 day sentence. If convicted of the two felonies, Carson could have been sentenced to a life sentence plus twenty years. Johnston was criticized in the media for a sentence which seemed to give Carson, a former local football hero, a lesser sentence than the average defendant. see http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1822463
Other
Johnston was also a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association and American Bond Lawyers Association during his years in private practice. He was appointed by Governor Guy Hunt in 1988 to serve on the Alabama State Tenure Commission, which heard appeals from dismissed tenured public school teachers. He served in this position over four years hearing over 1,000 cases during his term of office. He was also appointed by Governor Hunt to the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Commission, where he served from 1992–1999 and was Chairman from 1998 to 1999. Johnston was appointed by Governor Fob JamesFob James
Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...
in 1995 to the Certificate of Need Review Board of the State Health Planning & Development Agency, which licenses new hospital and nursing home beds as well as new medical equipment. He was appointed by Chief Justice Perry O. Hooper to the Committee on Sentencing, Unified Judicial System Study Commission. This commission recommended the establishment of sentencing standards and "truth in sentencing". Chief Justice Perry O. Hooper appointed Johnston as Chairman of the Administrative Office of Courts Form Committee 1998-2005, which had the responsibility of reviewing and redrafting hundreds of official forms which the court system uses.
In 2001, in response to a statewide revenue shortage in the court system, Chief Justice Roy Moore appointed Johnston Chairman of the Court Cost Enforcement Committee. This committee recommended over two dozen ways that court costs, fines and restitution could be better collected.
Johnston was, a longtime member of the Mobile County and Alabama Republican Executive Committees. He served as Chairman of the Mobile County Republican Party from 1986 to 1990 and Vice-Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party from 1995 to 1997. Additionally, he was elected a delegate to and attended the 1996 Republican National Convention, pledged to Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
.
Johnston is presently a member of the Mobile, Alabama
Alabama State Bar
The Alabama State Bar is the integrated bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama.The Alabama State Bar was established in 1923 and is part of the 1975 Alabama Code, §§ 34-3-1 to 34-3-89....
and American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
s, the Alabama Circuit Judges Association, American Judicature Society
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
, and Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy and the American and Mobile Inns of Court from 1998–present.
In addition to a lifelong study of law and politics, Johnston is an avid amateur astronomer and is a member of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers is an international scientific and educational organization established in March, 1947 in the United States by Walter H. Haas, and later incorporated in 1990...
and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
.
Johnston is an active shooter and is dedicated to preserving the shooting and firearms heritage of the United States. He is a member of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and Second Amendment Foundation
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation or SAF is an educational- and legal-defense organization which describes its mission as “promoting a better understanding about our constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms...
. Johnston is also the active manager of a family limited liability company that owns approximately 1000 acres (4 km²) of timberland in Mississippi and is involved in forestry and ecology issues in the State of Mississippi.
Johnston is married and the father of two children. He and his family are active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He is involved in juvenile diabetes support issues and is a dedicated long distance bike rider having recently completed a 58 miles (93.3 km) bike trip in a little less than five hours.
In 2007, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Harold See
Harold See
Harold Frend See, Jr. is a legal scholar and was an Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 1997 to 2009. The son of Harold F. See, Sr., and Corinne See, he was born at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois while his father was serving with the United States Navy in the...
announced he would not seek re-election. Johnston was the subject of much media speculation throughout the state of considering a statewide campaign to succeed Justice See. Johnston has denied interest in seeking this position in statewide media reports.
Judge Johnston is a contributor to legal education programs in Alabama and the Mobile Metropolitan area. Below is a partial list of programs presented in recent years:
- Electronic Discovery Issues in Circuit Court. Mobile-Baldwin County Bench and Bar Conference: Return to the Grand! December 1–2, 2006.
- Trial Court Considerations Under The Youthful Offender Act. Mobile Bar Association, March 16, 2007.
- Mediation: What Judges Want And Don’t Want. Mobile Bar Association” September 2007.
- Do’s and Don’ts in the Trial: Keeping Control over Feisty Lawyers. Mobile Bar Association, October 12, 2007.
- Document Authentication and Proving Damages: Legal Practices and Procedures that You Need to Know. Mobile Bar Association C.L.E. May 20, 2005.
- Trying the Non-Jury Case. Mobile Bar Association C.L.E. October 17, 2003
- Comprehensive Approach To Sex Offender Management: The Mobile Example. Porter Brock Inns Of Court, May 22, 2003.
- Do’s and Don’ts as Seen from the Bench. Mobile Bar Association November 1, 2002
- The Non-Unanimous Jury Verdict. Porter Brock Inns Of Court April, 2001
- The "Right to Die" under Alabama Law. Porter Brock Inns Of Court April 2004.
- Collecting Court Cost. Alabama Circuit and District Judges Annual Conference, Summer, 2001.
- Do’s and Don’ts as Seen from the Bench. Mobile Bar Association September 21, 2001.
- Court Security Issues. Alabama Municipal Clerks Association Annual Conference, Perdido Beach Resort, September, 2004
External links
- alacourt.gov
- http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_judge_as_lynch_mob
- http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=6920499&nav=menu62_11_4
- http://books.google.com/books?id=Gc5IXqieC0EC&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=%22judge+joseph+johnston%22&source=web&ots=CclM3mBFRs&sig=PfE03ssYfeU1w2EcKUBJzZjb1j0&hl=en#PPA107,M1
- http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1822463
- http://www.fed-soc.org/