Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Gorman Houston with his son, Gorman Houston, and daughter, Millie Houston.U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Gorman Houston, remembered for his integrity and devotion to fairness in the legal system over a career that spanned most of his long life, has died. Houston was 91.
Houston, a native of Eufaula, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1985 by Gov. George Wallace. He was elected to three six-year terms and retired from the court in 2005. He continued to practice law after that.
In 2003, Houston became acting chief justice when Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from office for defying a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the judicial building.
“Justice Houston truly cared not only about the individual cases that he ruled on, but he also cared about the administration of justice,” former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb said. “After former Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed, Justice Houston took over the court and did an outstanding job as the acting chief justice.
“He cared about indigent defense. Anyone who knew him, knew that he was a true warrior for those who were less fortunate to have better access to the court. He truly cared about civility and about professionalism and was just a tremendous public servant.”
Will Sellers, an associate justice on the current Alabama Supreme Court, said Houston carried out his work with selflessness, integrity, and ability.
“Justice Houston was a mentor to me and so many others,” Sellers said. “He was a paragon of integrity, courage and legal prowess. Alabama’s judicial system gained so much from his leadership and selfless service when he served as acting chief justice when Chief Justice Moore was removed from office. He left a great legacy for lawyers and judges to emulate.
“In our world of divisive politics, Justice Houston was a servant leader who sacrificed much to maintain the integrity of Alabama’s Judicial system.”
Houston earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and graduated first in his class from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1956.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama documented Houston’s career in an oral history Houston recorded with his son Gorman and his daughter Millie in 2022.
