Bill Pryor
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Born in Mobile, Alabama, Pryor earned his B.A. from Northeast Louisiana University in 1984 and his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1987. Pryor worked as a private attorney from 1988-95, serving as adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University from 1989-95. From 1995-97, he served as Alabama deputy attorney general and became Alabama attorney general in 1997.
Pryor received national attention in 2003 when he called for the removal of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who had disobeyed a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building. Pryor said that although he agreed with Moore in principle, he was following the court order and upholding the rule of law.
Pryor was nominated by President Bush on April 9, 2003 to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. After his confirmation stalled in the Senate, he was installed as judge on February 20, 2004 during the Congress's recess period, bypassing the U.S. Senate confirmation process. Pryor resigned as attorney general that same day and took his judicial oath for a term lasting until 2005 when the next Congressional session begins.
His nomination was a controversial one, with many Democrats blaming him for his comments regarding homosexuality, among other things. Pryor's nomination was prevented from being put to a vote in the U.S. Senate by Democrats who had filibustered his nomination. On June 9, 2005, he was confirmed to the Eleventh Circuit by a 53-45 Senate vote. He received his commission on June 10, 2005.
Pryor is married to Kristan Wilson Pryor, and the couple has two children.
References
- Bush Installs Judge, Bypassing Senate (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040220_1167.html)