About CJ:
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
CHILTON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL:
- 1997-2001
- Valedictorian
- 2001 Class President
- 2001 Bryant-Jordan Scholar Athlete Award Winner 5A Classification
- Wendy’s High School Heisman Candidate
- Chilton County Youth Citizen of the Year – Nominee
- Who’s Who: Most Likely to Succeed
- 2001 1st Team All-American Christian Scholar
Athlete Award (1 of 96 Nationally) - United States Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award
- Future Farmers of America President (1998)
- Chilton County Public Speaking County Champion (2000)
- Scholars Bowl Captain
- 2000-01 Team Captain Chilton County High School
(Football / Baseball) - Junior Class President, Chilton County High School (2000)
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO:
- 2001-2003. Bachelor of Science, Political Science;
Minor Pre-Law and History - Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award (Excellence Displayed
in Character, Humanitarian Service & Spiritual Qualities) - Highest Honors
- Golden Key International Honor Society
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- National Leadership Honor Society
- Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
- Phi Alpha Theta Historical Honor Society
- President’s List (above 3.80 GPA)
GEORGE C. WALLACE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SELMA:
- 2000-2002. Dual Enrollee CCHS and the University of Montevallo
- Academic Excellence Award 2002
- President’s List (above 3.80 GPA)
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LAW:
- 2003-2006. Doctor of Jurisprudence
- Trial Practice [American Jurisprudence Award - Fall 2005]
- Christian Legal Society
- President 2005-2006
- Mississippi Global Conference Representative
- Underprivileged Children’s Angel Program Director
- Hurricane Katrina Relief Team Coordinator
- Secretary 2004-2005
- 2006 Mississippi Spring Prayer Luncheon Coordinator
- Phi Alpha Delta Legal Society
- Treasurer
- Sports and Entertainment Law Society Founding Member
- Habitat for Humanity Building Committee
- Publications
- The Clanton Advertiser
- Mississippi Baptist Record
- The Legal Eye (Religion Columnist)
ALABAMA ADVANCED CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY: (MONTGOMERY POLICE ACADEMY)
- Class 2016-3
- Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) Certification
- Academic Excellence Award
- Class Treasurer
- APOSTC Certified Instructor
- Constitutional Law
- Laws of Arrest
- Court Procedures
WORK EXPERIENCE
Chief Deputy District Attorney 19th Judicial Circuit;
(Autauga, Chilton, and Elmore Counties)
October – 2012 to September - 2022. In addition to the listed duties as Deputy District Attorney of Chilton County, supervisor of all Assistant District Attorneys in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, supervisor for all civil condemnation filings, responsible for scheduling of docket assignments, personnel management, media liaison for all high profile cases, ambassador for the office at public and political functions, representative on multiple committees associated with state and federal law enforcement agencies and community task forces, attendee alongside the Office of Prosecution Services during the Legislative Sessions of the Alabama Legislature advocating for legislation and budgetary measures to benefit law enforcement, the Alabama District Attorney’s Association, and the Nineteenth Circuit.
Deputy District Attorney of Chilton County 19th Judicial Circuit;
(Autauga, Chilton, and Elmore Counties)
December 2010 – October 2012. In addition to the listed duties as an Assistant District Attorney, supervisor of the Chilton County office, responsible for the scheduling of docket assignments, personnel management, media liaison for high profile cases originating in Chilton County, and ambassador for the office for in-county public and political functions.
Assistant District Attorney 19th Judicial Circuit;
(Autauga, Chilton, and Elmore Counties)
January 2008 – December 2010. Employed as an Assistant District Attorney representing the State of Alabama in felony cases, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, juvenile adjudications and civil condemnation forfeiture proceedings.
270 Discover Solutions;
(Birmingham, AL)
July 2007 – January 2008. Served on a team of attorneys that performed structured review of discovery materials in class-action securities litigation focusing on issues of fraud, executive misconduct, and backdated stock options.
Private Practice;
(Clanton, AL)
October 2006 – July 2007. Operated a law office as a solo practitioner in various fields of criminal and civil law (including business law, family law, and probate law).
Mississippi Office of Capital Defense Counsel Externship;
(Jackson, MS)
August 2005 – December 2005. Performed legal research, discovery analysis, witness interviews, case evaluation, and various facets of trial preparation in numerous capital murder cases throughout the state of Mississippi while serving in the Externship program with Mississippi College School of Law.
Legal Internship with David B. Karn, Attorney at Law;
(Clanton, AL)
Summer 2004 & Summer 2005. Worked daily preparing memoranda and appellate briefs, conducting discovery analysis, drafting motions, interviewing witnesses, meeting with clients, and observing cases during trial in the areas of criminal law, family law, and probate law.
Judicial Internship with Judge Sibley Reynolds, 19th Judicial Circuit of Alabama;
(Clanton, AL)
Summer 2001. Assisted the judge and his staff by organizing the daily dockets, calling county jails to arrange schedules for the transportation of inmates, sorting and delivering files, previewing case briefs, acting as bailiff, and performing various other clerical duties.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Alabama District Attorney's Association
- Representative to the Alabama Sentencing Commission
- Public Relations Committee
- ADAA Bylaws Committee
- Officer-Involved Shooting Committee
Alabama District Attorneys’ Association 2015
Assistant District Attorney of the Year
- Larry E. Smith Award
VOCAL (Victims of Crime and Leniency)
- 2020 Miriam Shehane Award
- Vice Chairman
- 2020 – Present
- Executive Board Member
- 2018 - Present
Central Alabama CrimeStoppers Achievement Award
- 2018 Investigation and Prosecution of the Year
Chilton County Republican Executive Committee
- Chairman
- 2016 – 2018; 2020 – 2022
- Vice-Chairman
- 2011 – 2016; 2018 – 2020
Clanton Lions Club
- 2017 – Present
- 2020 Executive Board Member
Hugh O’ Brian Youth Leadership Foundation
- 1999 – 2012
- Executive Committee Member
- Guest Speaker / Counselor / Panelist / Judge
First Baptist Church; Clanton, AL
- 2006 – Present
- Deacon
- Choir Member
- Security Committee
- Assistant Sunday School Teacher
- Basketball and Softball Coach
LEGISLATIVE INVOLVEMENT
Act 2011-324: Chilton County Public Safety Technology Fund (§ 45-11-80.1). Increased local court costs to help provide a funding source for increasing technological costs associated with modern law enforcement.
Act 2014-214: Chilton County Sex Offender Anti-Clustering Restrictions; Public Nuisance (§ 45-11-82). Defined Sex Offender Clustering and provided a civil remedy for the District Attorney to file an action on behalf of property owners to have clusters of sex offenders at one address declared a public nuisance that jeopardized standards of community safety. (repealed)
Act 2014-427: Amendments to Criminally Negligent Homicide (§ 13A-6-4) and Assault First Degree (§ 13A-6-20) to include serious bodily injury or death by an intoxicated driver of a motor vehicle/vessel.
Act 2016-43: Winston’s Law. Expansion of Aggravated Child Abuse laws to enhance the abuse of a child less than six years of age who sustains a serious physical injury or sustains multiple incidents of child abuse to a Class A Felony. (§ 26-15-3.1)
Act 2017-358: Deputy Bart Hart Act. Revised the penalties for violations of Alabama driver’s license restrictions on persons under the age of 18. Also created penalties for a parent or legal guardian who knowingly allows his or her child with a Stage I or Stage II driver’s license to drive a motor vehicle in violation of the applicable restrictions. (§ 32-6-7.2)
Act 2019-485: Joel Willmore Act (Revision). Expansion of the public notification requirements of the Alabama Department of Corrections when a probationer or parolee absconds from a residential facility if the individual’s criminal history includes a class A felony, a crime against a child less than twelve (12) years of age, or was serving a term of life imprisonment. (§ 14-4-58)
Act 2021-496: Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL) granted tax exempt status from state, county and municipal sales taxes. VOCAL no longer will be required to pay sales taxes for materials associated with the clean-up of crime scenes and/or suicide scenes before the re-entry of the residents.
Act 2023-446: Amended the Child Abuse statue (§ 26-15-2 & 26-15-3) to include the language "willfully mistreat". Establishing criminal liability for any intentional behavior that inflicts unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering on a child without causing physical injury to the child. Intended to be focused on young children who are non-verbal.
