Corey Seale Sworn In As Tuscaloosa County's Newest Circuit Court Judge

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has appointed Assistant District Attorney Corey Seale to the bench as Tuscaloosa County's newest circuit court judge.

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The historic appointment resulted in Judge Seale becoming the first female circuit court judge of general jurisdiction in Tuscaloosa County's history. This means she will be the first woman in the circuit's history to preside over a jury trial.

"I specifically want to thank the governor for the opportunity and the trust that she’s placed in me to do this job and to do it well," Seale told Patch in an interview on Tuesday. "I want to do my very best to serve the citizens of Tuscaloosa County."

Seale said the responsibility is not wasted on her and she knows how important the position is for Tuscaloosa County.

"I’m up for the job," she said. "There’s still a little shock, but I’m up for it and ready for it."

As Patch previously reported, Judge Seale was one of three nominees sent by the Tuscaloosa County Judicial Commission to the governor to fill the circuit court judgeship left vacant by the retirement of Circuit Court Judge Brad Almond, who stepped down Dec. 1, 2025 after nearly 18 years on the bench.

The nine-member commission selected attorneys John Baird, Chad Hobbs and Seale from a pool of six applicants.

Judge Seale received her undergraduate degrees in Commerce & Business Administration and Human Environmental Sciences from the University of Alabama in 2012.

She is a 2016 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and currently serves as the secretary and treasurer of the Criminal Justice Section of the Alabama State Bar.

After graduating from law school, she began her legal career at Phelps, Jenkins, Gibson & Fowler, as an associate attorney working in the firm's litigation department.

"After about two years, I really wanted to get back into the courtroom," Judge Seale said. "An opening came up in the DA’s office, I met [District Attorney Hays Webb], and decided to take that opportunity. I started at the DA’s office on a Monday, was assigned to Judge John England’s courtroom, and he had a docket that Tuesday. He called a case of mine for trial, and I started a jury trial that Thursday. So I got exactly what I asked for — and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since."

Webb commended Seale for her work in his office over the last decade.

"Corey is well-deserving, and we are proud for her," he told Patch. "Over the past eight years she has been a great asset to our office, consistently demonstrating great ability and leadership. The community will be similarly well-served by Corey in her new role."

Judge Seale also said she planned to apply the lessons she learned in the DA's office to her new responsibilities on the bench.

"Hays’ motto of 'do the right thing' is so ingrained in all of us who come from that office," she said. "At the end of the day, that’s what I hope to do in every case — do the right thing. That’s what he tells us our job is and that’s what I’m going to carry over to this role."

When asked about her approach in the courtroom as a judge, Seale said the biggest aspect will be "following the law."

"In my role as an assistant district attorney, my job was, of course, advocating," she said. "But I always took that job really seriously and tried to find where the facts and the law intersect, and I’ve had to make tough decisions in cases just because the facts weren’t there or the law wasn’t on my side."

Judge Seale went on to say she also plans to address the large number of cases and work to clear up some of the backlog.

"I’ve been in a courtroom almost every day for the last eight years," she said. "I’ve handled probation dockets, youthful offender dockets, trial dockets, pretrial dockets. So I bring some of that experience to the bench already, knowing how I want to handle those things. I’ve tried a lot of cases for the DA’s office, so I bring an understanding of evidence, trials, and the law, at least from a criminal standpoint."

Judge Seale and her husband Joey are both originally from Demopolis and have a two-year-old son named Kirkham.

"All around, I don’t know if you’re ever fully ready for this," she said. "But I’m as ready as you can be."

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