This article originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Thanks to Judge Bill Gordon and his Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee, Alabama has a real chance for a supreme court election that will not be an embarrassment.

Both candidates for the open Supreme Court seat, Judge Deborah Bell Paseur and Judge Greg Shaw, have signed the Oversight Committee’s pledge to conduct their campaigns in an ethically responsible manner. They are to be commended.

Other appellate judicial candidates have also signed the pledge. One hopes all the other candidates will demonstrate the courage and character of those candidates. Removal of the negative personal attacks from our judicial campaigns will allow Alabamians to cast their votes based on experience, integrity, professional competence, judicial temperament and service.

It will also permit candidates to campaign on their commitment to the law rather than attempt to influence public opinion through mudslinging.

Now that our candidates have pledged to run campaigns worthy of the offices they seek, we must find a way to stop wasting so much money on our judicial elections. In the last election cycle, $17 million were spent on Alabama’s judicial campaigns. In the same year, $7 million were spent providing Alabama’s poor access to our judicial system.

Much of the money spent on the judicial campaigns was spent on television advertising. Remember any of the TV spots from the 2006 campaign? Do you remember the negative ads that attacked candidates on a personal level, or do you remember the positive ads, ads that really told you who the candidates were and why they deserved your vote?

If you’re like many Alabamians, you remember the content from the positive ads, and you remember that the negative ads left a bad taste in your mouth toward both candidates.

Judicial campaign managers, contributors, and consultants must ask themselves whether the negative ads make enough of a difference to be worth the risk. Judicial candidates must ask a much more important question of themselves: do these ads tell Alabama voters who I really am, or are they a second-rate way to try and win an election?

Going negative may be a sure ticket to a losing campaign, as evidenced by the 53 incumbent Texas judges who recently lost elections due to campaigns based on negative personal attacks. Alabama voters should ignore expensive campaign ads that seek to create nothing more than fear and hate.

We have better things to spend our money on in this state. Access to justice for our poor and adequate indigent defense funding are far more important than dirty campaigns. The state of Alabama provides far too little money for criminal defense for the poor. The state provides nothing for poor Alabamians who need a civil attorney.

Fewer than 20 percent of the civil legal needs of the poor in our state were met last year. Problems in our indigent defense system must also be addressed to help ensure that every Alabamian who is accused of a crime will receive quality representation.

An indigent defense bill will be introduced in our state Legislature this year that makes delivery of legal services much more efficient and directs more dollars to the local trial level. We simply cannot allow our judicial system to operate one way for people who can afford an attorney and another for people who cannot. By expanding access to the courts and providing adequate funding for our indigent defense system, we ensure that the “least of these” among us is served by our judicial system.

Our system of justice must not only appear to be just — it must also be just in action. It is my hope that the candidates seeking to serve on the state’s highest court will turn the tide on negative campaigning. The candidates involved in the election process must take the lead in ethical and honest campaigning. The rest of us should expect and accept no less.

I ask all to join me in my commitment to the law and to providing access to justice for all Alabamians. Having judicial candidates who pledge to adhere to the Canons of Judicial Ethics and who refuse to sling mud at each other is a good place to start.

J. Mark White of Birmingham is president of the 15,700-member Alabama State Bar, the official organization of lawyers in Alabama. White is a partner in the law firm of White Arnold & Dowd P.C.

Sandestin, FL – J. Mark White, a founding partner in the Birmingham law firm of White Arnold & Dowd P.C., was installed as the 132nd president of the Alabama State Bar for 2008-2009 at the Bar’s annual meeting this weekend.

As President, White will serve as head of the 15,700 member organization. He said the goals of this administration would be, “to remove barriers to justice for Alabama’s poor, to embark on an immediate course to change the nature of state judicial elections, and to champion efforts that increase the public’s confidence in our system of justice. In talking with Alabama attorneys from Phenix City to Demopolis, I’ve learned that these issues resonate with all of us…we are bound and determined to improve judicial campaigns in Alabama and to make justice accessible to all.” Key projects will include:

• Increasing resources to help Alabama’s poor and disadvantaged receive affordable legal assistance
• Advocating for adequate funding of the state’s indigent defense system
• Improving Alabama’s system for the selection of its judiciary
• Assisting the bench and bar in improving civility and professionalism

White received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University (1969), served in the United States Navy (1970-72), and earned his law degree from Samford University Cumberland School of Law (1974). He currently serves as president of the law school’s 7000 member national alumni association. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, a listing widely regarded within the legal profession as a high honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

White comes to the task of president with a proven record of dedication to the justice system and the lawyers and judges who comprise the Alabama State Bar. He has been recognized for his early work both in Alabama and across the nation to improve the public’s confidence in the judiciary. In 1999, White created Alabama’s first Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee. Since 2001, he has served as the co-chair of the National Center for State Courts’ Committee on Judicial Campaign Conduct, making major presentations to the Conference of Chief Judges, providing advice to state supreme courts, and serving as lead faculty for workshops on state judicial campaign conduct committees. White’s work on behalf of that group was recognized in 2007 when he was chosen to receive their Distinguished Service Award. White has also served as a member of the Alabama State Judicial Inquiry Commission (2001-2007).

As the 27th president from Birmingham in the state bar’s 85-year history, White brings over thirty years of experience as a trial litigator in matters covering a spectrum of civil and criminal practice, including white collar crime, mass tort, personal injury, environmental, antitrust, business and securities litigation. As lead counsel in a number of high profile cases, White has earned a reputation for building bridges as a winning strategy.

An active leader in the Bar, White has served as past president of the Birmingham Bar (2004), as State Bar Commissioner (1995-2004), and as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (1995-2001). He is also a Life Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation. He maintains professional affiliations with the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the state and national Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is the recipient of both the state bar’s Commissioner’s Award (given in recognition of lifelong dedication to improving the administration of justice) and the Award of Merit (recognized for outstanding constructive service to the legal profession). He is licensed to practice before the federal, state and appellate courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Alabama State Bar is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility, competence and satisfaction of its members; improving the administration of justice, and increasing public understanding and respect for the law.

Three White Arnold & Dowd lawyers are recognized in the 2008 edition of Alabama Super Lawyers, an independent lawyer rating publication. The attorneys selected for inclusion are Stephen R. Arnold, Augusta S. Dowd and J. Mark White. Arnold is recognized as one of the state’s top matrimonial lawyers, concentrating on cases involving complex finances and child custody disputes. Dowd, also on the elite Top 25 Women list, represents clients in the areas of commercial and complex litigation, mass torts, white collar crime, personal injury, class action, whistleblower and intellectual property. White, also named to the Top 50 list, has more than 30 years of courtroom experience, taking on cases in commercial and complex litigation, white collar crime, mass torts, personal injury, antitrust, and securities litigation. A past president of the Birmingham Bar Association, White will become president of the Alabama State Bar later this year.

J. Mark White has an article entitled “Request for Oral Argument Denied: The Death of Oral Argument in Alabama’s Appellate Courts” published in the latest issue of The Alabama Lawyer.

Click to view the PDF version of the article.

Birmingham, AL — White Arnold Andrews & Dowd P.C. announced today that effective February 1, 2008, the firm will be known as White Arnold & Dowd P.C. “The change in firm name reflects the retirement of our friend and partner, George W. Andrews, III,” said managing partner, Augusta S. Dowd.

After 36 years of practicing law, attorney George W. Andrews, III, has retired from his highly successful practice as a criminal defense attorney. During his legal career, he served as a prosecutor for the State of Alabama and later he served as criminal defense counsel with the law firm of White Arnold Andrews & Dowd P.C., representing clients in state and federal courts. His expertise in the area of criminal law is unmatched; his talents will be greatly missed in the courthouses of Alabama. During his retirement, Mr. Andrews plans to travel, write and perhaps teach a class or two.

Birmingham, AL – September 18, 2007 – White Arnold Andrews & Dowd P.C. announced today that Augusta S. Dowd has been named as a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation. Dowd, a shareholder in the firm, also serves as Managing Partner.

Membership in the Foundation is limited to 1% of the membership of the Alabama State Bar. Fellows must be members of the Bar for a minimum of ten years, must demonstrate remarkable dedication to the legal profession and to the community, and be willing to make a contribution to the Foundation. The Foundation currently has 207 Fellows, and Augusta S. Dowd will begin serving immediately.

White Arnold Andrews & Dowd P.C. had three attorneys chosen as the 2007 Birmingham Business Journal’s Best of the Bar—J. Mark White (white collar crime), Steve Arnold (matrimonial law), and Bill Bowen (appellate law).

Stephen R. Arnold of White Arnold Andrews & Dowd P.C. will be teaching courses in Tax and Financial Issues at the Institute for Family Law on June 21, 2007, in Chicago, IL. He has been a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1982 and serves on the faculty of the Institute for Family Law Associates.

Williamsburg, VA (July 19, 2007) — J. Mark White, founding partner in the law firm White Arnold & Dowd P.C. in Birmingham, Ala., is the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Service Award, one of the highest awards presented by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a person who has made longstanding contributions to the improvement of the justice system and who has supported the mission of the National Center.

The award was presented to Mr. White at the Alabama State Bar’s Bench and Bar Luncheon in Point Clear, Alabama. “As a member of the legal profession, he cares deeply about the importance of the work of our country’s justice system and the mission of the National Center for State Courts as the preeminent national court reform organization,“ Mary McQueen, NCSC president said.

Mr. White has a proven record of dedication to the justice system and has worked diligently both in Alabama and across the country to improve the public’s confidence in the judiciary, McQueen said. He began this work in 1999, creating Alabama’s first Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee. Since 2001, Mr. White has served as co-chair of the NCSC-sponsored Ad Hoc National Advisory Committee on Judicial Campaign Conduct, making major presentations to the Conference of Chief Judges, providing advice to state supreme courts, and serving as lead faculty for NCSC-sponsored workshops on establishing state judicial campaign conduct committees. Nine new statewide judicial campaign oversight committees were established in the last two years, more than doubling the number of existing committees.

Mr. White currently serves as a member of the Judicial Inquiry Commission for the State of Alabama. He earned his law degree from Samford University Cumberland School of Law and his B.A. from Auburn University.

The National Center for State Courts, founded in 1971 by Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice and provides leadership, research, technology, education and training to the state courts. The National Center is also taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, The National Center is working to improve public trust and confidence in the courts, reform the judicial selection process, develop a model policy on public access to court records, and to improve pro se litigation. The National Center is headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., and has offices in Washington, D.C. and Denver, Co.

www.ncsconline.org