Sarah Hicks Stewart (born April 26, 1963) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the U.S. state, state of Alabama. The court consists of a Chief Justice, chief justice and eight Associate Justice, associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for stagge ...

since 2025, after being elected in November 2024. She served as an associate justice of the same court from 2019 to 2025.

Education

Stewart received both a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in communications from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. She went on to receive a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each ...

Career

She worked as a private practice attorney from 1992 until her judicial appointment; from 1996 to 2006 she was a senior partner.

Alabama Supreme Court

In 2017 Stewart announced her candidacy for the Supreme Court for the seat being vacated by

Glenn Murdock Glenn Murdock (born June 25, 1956) is a former justice of the Alabama Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is ...

, who was not seeking reelection. In the primary, she faced incumbent

Brady E. Mendheim Jr. Brady Eutaw Mendheim Jr. (born July 26, 1968) is an American jurist who has served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama since 2019. Biography Mendheim earned his Bachelor of Arts from Auburn University and his Juris Doctor fr ...

who was appointed by the governor, along with another challenger. Mendheim conceded his loss to Stewart. Stewart went on to win the general election, facing no challenger. She was sworn into office on January 11, 2019. In January 2023, Stewart announced she was running for the position of chief justice to replace Chief Justice Tom Parker when he retires. She went on to win the Republican primary. Stewart won the general election held on November 5, 2024. She was sworn into office on January 24, 2025.

Personal life

Stewart is married to her husband Craig R. Stewart, and they have two daughters.

References

External links