Restoration of Portrait of Judge Alta L. King, 1115 ALBJ, 76 The Alabama Lawyer 372 (2015)

AuthorWilliam N. Clark, J.
PositionVol. 76 6 Pg. 372

Restoration of Portrait of Judge Alta L. King

Vol. 76 No. 6 Pg. 372

Alabama Bar Lawyer

November, 2015

William N. Clark, J.

Presiding Jefferson County Circuit Judge Houston Brown, as one of his last official acts, asked retired Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tom King, Jr. and presiding Probate Judge Alan L. King if they would like to rehang the portrait of Judge Alta L. King, their grandfather, in what had been Judge Alta King's courtroom from 1947-1969. They readily agreed, and on June 30, 2015, the ceremony was held in the courtroom now occupied by Circuit Judge Bentley Patrick.

The courtroom was full, including a surprising number of lawyers who had practiced before Judge Alta King. Judge Brown began the ceremony by introducing Judge Tom King and his family. Judge Brown noted that Tom and Alan's father, the late Tom King, Sr., had served as an Alabama state senator and was a leader in the community. Judge Brown noted that when Judge Alta King retired in 1969, he was presented with a plaque from the Birmingham Bar Association ("BBA") by the late L. Drew Redden, then president of the BBA. The plaque read: Circuit Judge Alta L. King (1947-1969) "The Judge with a Heart."

Judge Brown's reference to Drew Redden was followed by comments from Bill Clark, a partner of Drew Redden's, and, like him, a past president of both the BBA and the Alabama State Bar. Bill explained the close relationship between Drew Redden and the King family. Tom King, Sr. and Drew had both served in the Philippines during World War II, were in college together and fraternity brothers at the University of Alabama and remained close friends over the years.

Judge Brown then spoke about one of Judge King's most famous cases that was a testament to his courage, strong sense of justice and fairness for all. In 1957, Judge Edward Aaron (not a judge, but that was his name), an African-American, was kidnapped and castrated by four white men, all Ku Klux Klan members, one of whom was cyclops of the local chapter. In a September 16, 1957 article in Time magazine, one of the men responded with a racial epithet to a question about why they had picked Aaron, saying that they had just picked an African-American at random. The hooded men took him to a...

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