Governor Ivey Appoints Prosecutor Corey Seale as Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge

A prosecutor in Tuscaloosa County has been appointed to serve as circuit judge, filling a bench left vacant by the retirement of Judge Brad Almond late last year.

Two-time University of Alabama alumnus Corey G. Seale was one of three attorneys whose names were provided to Governor Kay Ivey in December as possible replacements for Almond in the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.

Also under consideration were Public Defender John Baird and Tuscaloosa's Senior Associate City Attorney Chad Hobbs.

After weighing the candidates, Ivey has appointed Seale to the Circuit Court bench, where she will oversee a huge number of criminal and civil cases. She is also the first woman to serve as a circuit court judge hearing criminal jury trials in Tuscaloosa County's history.

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Seale is a Demopolis native who earned two bachelor's degrees from the University of Alabama in 2012 and graduated from its School of Law in 2016.

She is married to Joey Seale, and they are raising a young son. She will serve out the rest of Almond's term and appear on the ballot for the bench seat when elections are next held in 2028.

"I think she's going to do a just fantastic job," said Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet, who was presiding judge of the circuit until his term in that role ended recently. "I had many cases with her back when I was in private practice, and she was always prepared. She always knew her case, and she was always reasonable."

Only four circuit judges preside over felony prosecutions in Tuscaloosa County, although a fifth will be elected this year and in office next January.

As one of those judges, Pruet said he's had the privilege of Seale work in the courtroom as a prosecutor working under District Attorney Hays Webb.

"She treated everyone fairly. She treated them the same, and she was just good at what she did," Pruet said. "She's been in the DA's office for a number of years, and it's easy in that line of work to start seeing the world as an us-versus-them situation, and it's easy to be blinded by zeal if you do that work long enough. [Seale] has this ability to really zealously pursue justice without turning herself into a zealot."

One wrinkle of Seale's appointment is that, as an assistant district attorney for the last eight years, she will likely need to recuse herself from a number of criminal prosecutions that were not resolved before Almond's retirement.

Pruet said the circuit judges will be finalizing plans to get those reassigned and working together to cut down on the backlog of felony cases awaiting trial in Tuscaloosa County.

Congratulations and good luck to Judge Seale. For more exclusive coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.