FROM STAFF REPORTS

Judge Michael Joiner, who sits on the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals, will kickoff his election campaign Oct. 18 with a fundraising reception for members of the local bench and bar associations.

The event is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Marriott Conference Center at Grandview on U.S. 280.

Appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in February by Gov. Robert Bentley, Joiner previously served as a Shelby County Circuit judge for 18 years, his last six years as presiding judge.

“I am extremely honored and humbled by all of the support I have received here throughout the State,” Joiner said through a press release. “It is exciting for me to begin my election campaign, and I believe that both my experience and my strong commitments to upholding justice and applying the law equally to all have contributed to the warm welcome I have received by the people of our great state.”

Joiner created the Shelby County Drug Court, which became a statewide model for helping people in the Alabama court system overcome additions. Joiner was subsequently tasked with training drug courts throughout the state, and there are now drug courts in 65 of Alabama’s counties.

Joiner is the incoming President of the Alabama Association of Drug Court Professionals. He is also a frequent speaker throughout the state on sentencing reform.

Joiner was recently named Shelby County’s “Republican of the Year” by the Shelby County Republican Party, and was honored at the party’s annual Reagan-Lincoln Dinner.