Bryan Taylor sees himself as the only true conservative in the race to be chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Taylor says his judicial and military experience, as well as his time as a state senator, makes him the best choice for the job. Current Chief Justice Tom Parker is leaving the position next year. Associate Justice Sarah Stewart is the only other Republican candidate for the seat. The primary election is March 5.
“I’m the only conservative in this race,” Taylor said. “I’m the only candidate not bankrolled by liberal special interests who want to influence our courts. We have too many liberal judges in the country. We don’t need another one as chief justice here in Alabama.
Stewart
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“As a military prosecutor I protected our freedoms in Iraq, and as chief justice I’ll protect our constitutional freedoms here at home.”
Taylor also called Stewart the “most liberal justice” on the Alabama Supreme Court.
“She is backed by trial lawyers and liberal self-interests,” he said. “They know they can’t win with a Democrat, so they’re trying to hijack the Republican primary.
“Philosophically, she has a brand of judicial activism that’s very different from my philosophy of applying the law as written and not legislating from the bench.”
Taylor noted that Stewart’s campaign has received more than $304,000 from the Progress for Justice PAC, which he called a political action committee for trial attorneys. He said a huge part of that contribution was from Beasley Allen, which is the largest personal injury law firm in the state.
“Justice Stewart has a record of expanding liability and voting for huge punitive damage verdicts,” Taylor said. “Opening up our job creators and business owners to these risks is precisely what drives economic development and jobs out of the state.
“I’m going to be the kind of chief justice who ensures our courts rule fairly, consistently and predictably under the law as written. They need to understand what their liability is going to be, and the only way to do that is apply the law as it is written.
“We’ve got to have a chief justice who’s going to stand up to the weaponization of the justice system.”
Taylor also spoke on the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling regarding IVF clinics that has drawn worldwide attention. While he said he can’t discuss some matters in the case because it’s still pending after being reinstated and remanded back to trial court, he stressed the case wasn’t about the legal protections afforded frozen embryos.
“Everybody in the case, based on the majority opinion, acknowledged and conceded that the embryos were human lives and that life begins at fertilization,” Taylor said. “The question as about whether an IVF clinic can be held liable and face punitive damages based on a statue written in 1872 that was silent on the issue of embryos.”
He said he disagreement is about whether IVF clinics can be sued and held liable for the unintentional loss of the embryos. It is standard practice in IVF treatment for multiple embryos to be fertilized, with just one or two returned to the women's womb and the others discarded.
The February 16 ruling led the state's largest hospital to pause IVF treatments. The 7-2 ruling by the nine Republican justices said “unborn children are children,” meaning the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to “all children, born and unborn, without limitation.”
“We can recognize and uphold the sanctity of life without subjecting IVF clinics to massive punitive damages award,” Taylor said. “That’s what the state Legislature needs to do about this, and those bills already have been introduced and are pending.”
“I just think we need to make sure we continue to have a viable IVF alternative for parents who need that option.”
Taylor is an Iraq war veteran, a former military prosecutor and retired Army Judge Advocate. He served as legal counsel to the Alabama Republican Party and two governors, most recently as chief legal advisor to Gov. Kay Ivey. He also served in the Alabama State Senate.
He is a co-founding member of the law firm of Bachus Brom & Taylor, where he concentrates his practice in Constitutional law, appeals, election law, business law and litigation and public policy.
In a recent campaign ad, Taylor touted himself as a tough conservative.
“Liberal judges are using the courts to advance their woke agenda,” he said in the ad. “I’ll follow the law as written and never legislate from the bench. … As Chief Justice, I’ll be guided by my faith and fearlessly uphold the Constitution.”
Another ad paid for by the Fair Courts America PAC says Taylor “will never legislate from the bench.”