Callie V. Granade
Callie Virginia Smith Granade (born March 7, 1950) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. The first female federal prosecutor in Mobile, Granade became the first woman in Alabama to be named a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the first female federal district judge in her district.[1]
Callie V. S. Granade | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama | |
| Assumed office March 7, 2016 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama | |
| In office 2003–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Randolph Butler Jr. |
| Succeeded by | William H. Steele |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama | |
| In office February 12, 2002 – March 7, 2016 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Alex T. Howard, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Beaverstock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 7, 1950 Lexington, Virginia |
| Education | Hollins College (B.A.) University of Texas School of Law (J.D.) |
Early life and education
Born in Lexington, Virginia, Granade graduated from Hollins College with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972 and later from University of Texas School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1975. She is the granddaughter of former Judge Richard Rives, the federal judge who wrote the majority opinion in Browder v. Gayle finding Montgomery, Alabama's bus segregation unconstitutional.
Legal career
Following law school graduation, Granade became a law clerk for John Godbold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1975 to 1976). She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama from 1977 to 2001, and the district's interim United States Attorney from 2001 to 2002. Among her high-profile cases in her 25 years as a federal prosecutor, Granade led the successful prosecution of Mobile city commissioner Lambert C. Mims for extortion.[1]
Federal judicial career
On the recommendation of Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, President George W. Bush nominated Granade to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on September 4, 2001, after Judge Alex T. Howard, Jr. assumed senior status. Granade was confirmed by the Senate on February 4 and received her commission on February 12, 2002. She served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010. She assumed senior status on March 7, 2016.
Perhaps her highest profile ruling was issued on January 23, 2015, when Judge Granade struck down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage as violating the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection and due process.[2]
References
- Erickson, Ben (2008). Mobile's legal legacy: three hundred years of law in the Port City (1st ed.). Birmingham, Alabama: Association Pub. Co. with Mobile Bar Association. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-9668380-8-4. OCLC 270237290.
- Galloway, Drew (January 23, 2015). "Federal judge strikes down Alabama laws banning same-sex marriage". WHNT-TV. Tribune Broadcasting. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
Sources
- Callie V. Granade at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Cook v. Atwood Oceanics"Order" (PDF). U.S. District Court for Southern Alabama.
- Activist judge? Careful jurist? Meet the woman who made gay marriage legal in Alabama, AL.com, February 7, 2015
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alex T. Howard, Jr. |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama 2002–2016 |
Succeeded by Jeff Beaverstock |
| Preceded by Charles Randolph Butler Jr. |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama 2003–2010 |
Succeeded by William H. Steele |