Judge Jerry L. Fielding

Retired Senior Circuit Judge and former Senator Jerry L. Fielding was appointed by Speaker of the House, Mike Hubbard, and confirmed by the Alabama Senate on March 5, 2015, to serve a term on the Alabama Ethics Commission that began on September 1,2014 and ends on August 31, 2019.

Jerry L. Fielding is a practicing attorney in Sylacauga, Alabama having retired as Presiding Circuit Judge for Talladega County, Alabama January l, 2004. He served as a District and Circuit Judge for 26 years presiding over both civil and criminal cases. Judge Fielding is a member of the American Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar Association and the Talladega County Bar Association. He is also admitted to the practice of law in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the 5th and 11th Federal Judicial Circuits and in the United States Supreme Court. He is also a certified mediator and arbitrator. Prior to his service on the bench, he was a partner in the law firm of Bell, Lang, Bell and Fielding in Sylacauga from 1974 to 1978. During this time he was the Coosa County Prosecutor. From 1966 to 1974, Judge Fielding was employed with Avondale Mills at Rockford and LaFayette, Alabama as he worked his way through college and law school. While at LaFayette, he was the Personnel Director and Training Supervisor.

Judge Fielding was born in Coosa County, Alabama to the late Tom H. and Mozelle Fielding of Rockford, Alabama. He is married to Libby Fielding, they reside on the family farm in Sylacauga, Alabama. They have two children, a daughter, Amanda Fielding Moore of Montgomery, Alabama, and a son, Adam, of Nashville, Tennessee. They have one granddaughter, Emma.

Judge Fielding graduated from Coosa County High School in 1965, and Alexander City State Junior College in 1967. In 1969, Judge Fielding graduated from Auburn University with a major in Economics and a minor in Political Science, cum laude. In 1973 he graduated from Jones Law School in Montgomery, Alabama, with a Juris Doctorate. At that time Jones Law School was a night school. Judge Fielding worked for Avondale Mills in LaFayette, Alabama during the day and then commuted to Montgomery, Alabama in the evening to attend the Law School. This was a round trip commute of 168 miles which he did for three years, three to four nights per week. He traveled by car in excess of 60,000 miles to obtain his law degree. Judge Fielding was admitted to the Practice of Law in May 1974.

Judge Fielding and his family are members of the First United Methodist Church of Sylacauga where he serves as Associate Teacher of the Second Mile Sunday School Class,a member of the Building Committee and as an Usher. He previously served as Chairman of the Staff/Parrish Committee, the Administrative Board and the Board of Trustees. He also serves as Chairman of the Southeastern District Board of Trustees for the United Methodist Church.

Judge Fielding is Vice Chairman and Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Coosa Valley Medical Center, Member and Past President of the Talladega County Easter Seals Council, Member and Past Chairman of the Sylacauga City School Foundation Board, Current President and Member of the Talladega County Cattlemen Association, Member and Past Chairman of the Alabama Council of Hospital Trustees, Member of the Talladega County Child Advocacy Center, and Past Member of the Talladega County Human Resource Board. Judge Fielding is also a Member of the Chambers of Commerce for Sylacauga and Childersburg. He is also a Member of the Talladega Rotary Club. Judge Fielding is the only person to serve as the President of both the Talladega and the Sylacauga Rotary Club. He is a Past Board Member of the Greater Council of Boy Scouts of America. Judge Fielding previously served as a Bank Board Director for over 25 years. In 1981 the Sylacauga Junior Chamber of Commerce honored Judge Fielding by selecting him the Distinguished Citizen of the Year. Since becoming a Judge in 1978, Judge Fielding has served as Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Alabama District Judges Association. He has also served as President, Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Alabama Circuit Judges Association. He was honored to be the only Judge to serve as President of both Associations. Judge Fielding has been assigned by the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to preside over cases in other counties throughout the State of Alabama. Previously he served on the Board of Governors for the American Judges Association. In 2002 Judge Fielding was presented the Alabama Judicial Award of Merit by the Alabama State Bar. This award, which is not an annual presentation, is the highest award presented by the bar to a member of the State Judiciary. Some of the past recipients of this award include former U.S. Senator Howell Heflin, former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, former United States Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson and Circuit Judge Charles Price.

Judge Fielding is honored to have served his Country as a member of the Alabama Army National Guard and was Honorably Discharged with the rank of Sergeant, E-5.

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