Tom Parker

Parker was born on August 19, 1951, in Montgomery, Alabama. A very good student, Parker excelled through high school and entered Dartmouth College. This institution he considered to be more conservative than the other Ivy League schools. After graduation he studied at Vanderbilt Law School and then won a scholarship from Rotary International Fellowship to the University of Sao Paulo School of Law in Brazil.

As a lawyer, Parker worked first in the Alabama Attorney General's office and gained experience he would need later. Then, during a stint away from the AG, he entered private practice with Tom Kotouc. Defending constitutional law, Parker became involved in the Alabama School Prayer Case, and his defense of the First Amendment is the argument Justice William Rehnquist used at the U.S. Supreme Court. Fighting for families and freedom, Parker established the Alabama Family Alliance, the John 17 Pastors Fellowship, and the Alabama Family Advocates. The latter organization enjoys a relationship with Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family.

Parker's commitment to justice and his unflinching devotion to God as the Creator encouraged the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, to appoint him to the position of Deputy Administrative Director of Courts. Together, Moore and Parker worked to keep the Ten Commandments monument in the judicial building; however, when a court removed Chief Justice Moore, Parker was fired. Several years later, Parker decided to become a justice himself. He ran for the Alabama Supreme Court and was elected, ousting an incumbent Associate Justice who had supported the removal of both the Ten Commandments monument and of Chief Justice Moore.

Standing to be sworn in as a justice, Parker proclaimed that ultimately God is the authority people are to follow and that justices should look to the Constitution as the way to interpret laws. A firm supporter of the family, Parker is pro-life; he has helped legalize homeschooling in Alabama; and, he works to protect the rights of women and children. For these reasons, Vision Forum named Justice Parker their 2005 George Washington Man of the Year in 2005. With his friend and wife, Dottie, supporting him with consistency throughout his life, Parker continues following his faith and appears on radio programs and gives lectures. One of his lectures is contained in the DVDs entitled Introduction to Christianity, Law, and Culture. Parker continues to serve the Lord and the public from his home in Alabama.