By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
A member of the Board of Trustees of The Alabama State University, the honorable Tiffany B. McCord, has been appointed by Alabama Governor Kay E. Ivey to fill the unexpired term of Judge Johnny Hardwick (ASU class of 1973) on the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit, place nine. Hardwick resigned his seat effective March 31, after more than two decades on the bench.
Trustee McCord was sworn into her new office on April 3 in the Montgomery County Courthouse in courtroom 4-A, the same room where Hardwick began his career as a circuit court judge in 2001. Both McCord and Hardwick were appointed to the court by an Alabama governor.
"First of all, allow me to say that I am very thankful to Governor Ivey for the trust and the confidence that she has placed in me by appointing me to serve on the 15th Judicial Circuit as a circuit court judge," McCord said. "I promise to her - and to all of our citizens - that I will work long and hard to uphold the rule of law under the Code of Alabama and to make certain that justice is served on behalf of all of our residents in a fair and impartial manner."
McCord has 23 years of legal experience, with many notable accomplishments. Prior to being appointed to the circuit court, McCord was elected to a seat on the Montgomery County District Court. In 2012, she became the first black female to be elected to the position of Montgomery County Circuit Clerk. McCord graduated with a degree in History from Auburn University-Montgomery and earned her juris doctorate degree from Faulkner University's Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. She is married to Darris McCord and has one daughter, Kirstain.
Trustee McCord, while eager to begin in her new position on the highest court in Montgomery's 15th Judicial Circuit, also feels the solemnity of the appointment.
"I am very excited to serve in my new capacity as a circuit court judge but also am aware of the huge shoes that I must fill in being appointed to the seat left open by Judge Hardwick's resignation," McCord stated. "He was a giant among judges, and I hope to make him, Governor Ivey, the people of Montgomery County and the members of the Hornet Nation family proud of how I administer justice in all of the cases that come before me on the bench."