Justice J. Christopher McCool

Alabama Supreme Court

Justice Chris McCool, a lifelong resident of Pickens County, Alabama, grew up on his family's farm in the Zion Community near Gordo, Alabama. He is the oldest son of Diane McCool and the late Harold McCool, also of the Zion Community. Judge McCool grew up on the farm that has been in his family for five generations, and which he now manages for his mother.

In 1985, Justice McCool graduated from Pickens Academy as valedictorian. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1990, with a double major in History and Classics (With a Concentration in Greek). In 1990, he received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for outstanding senior man at the University of Alabama. He also served in the Student Government Association as a member of the Student Senate and as Chief Justice of the Student Court during his undergraduate tenure.

Justice McCool graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1993, where he served as an Associate Justice and ultimately as Chief Justice of the Honor Court. He was a member of the Alabama Law Review and the Farrah Law Society. Immediately after graduation, Justice McCool returned to his hometown of Gordo to practice law with local attorney C.O. Burkhalter. In 1995, he was appointed to serve as a full-time Assistant District Attorney for Pickens County, and in 2001 he became District Attorney for the 24th Judicial Circuit, comprising Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens Counties. In 2018, he ran successfully for a full term on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, taking office on November 9, 2018.  He served on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals from 2018 to 2025 and was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2025.