Former Elmore County District Court Judge Patrick Pinkston is the new circuit court judge Place No. 1 in the 19th Judicial Circuit.
It was a vacant position after Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Judge Bill Lewis to the Alabama Civil Court of Appeals. On April 1, Ivey appointed Pinkston to serve the remainder of Lewis’ term. The Alabama Republican Party also placed Pinkston on the November General Election ballot replacing Lewis there.
“I am honored and humbled by Gov. Ivey’s recent appointment of me to the Circuit Court bench,” Pinkston said. “Serving the people of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Autauga, Chiton and Elmore Counties is a privilege for which I am most grateful.”
Ivey informed Pinkston by letter.
“As one of my appointees, you will be making important decisions that directly affect the citizens of Alabama,” Ivey’s letter to Pinkston said. “I have made honesty and integrity a priority in my Administration, and I know that you will embody these two virtues while serving the people of Alabama.”
Pinkston will serve as both a district court judge and circuit court judge until Ivey makes an appointment to fill the district court vacancy. In that time, current 19th Circuit Court Judges Amanda Baxley and Joy Booth and retired circuit court judge Sibley Reynolds will handle the bulk of circuit court duties that will fall on Pinkston.
Pinkston was sworn in by Associate Alabama Supreme Court Justice William B. Sellers in the Supreme Court courtroom at the Supreme Court Building in Montgomery on April 5.