After 30 years on the bench, Elmore County Circuit Judge John Bush is calling it a career. He plans on opening a mediation and arbitration service.
Bush’s retirement begins Oct. 15. When a vacancy opened on the Sixth Circuit in 2013, Senators McConnell and Rand Paul refused to reach an agreement with President Obama on a nominee.
John Kenneth Bush is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on May 8, 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 20, 2017, by a vote of 51-47. And, in paperwork he submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bush explained that in November 2016, presumably after the presidential election, he met with Senator McConnell in Louisville where Bush “expressed [his] interest in serving as a federal judge.” Bush said that he has “been in contact with Leader McConnell and representatives from his office since that time.”It’s also notable that President Trump nominated Bush only two months after a vacancy arose on the Sixth Circuit, leapfrogging vacancies on other courts that have existed for years.
President Bush has nominated federal appeals court Judge John Roberts to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I enjoy just being out on the tractor bush hogging.”“That’s what I’m going to miss, the courthouse family,” Bush said, turning reflective. But when the Legislature creates 178 new felonies not only is that a tremendous work load on the court system; sheriff’s offices, police departments, clerks’ office and our DAs.Bush, 60, is the second most senior circuit judge in the state, behind Randall Cole who serves DeKalb and Cherokee counties. Top of Today. “It’s time,” Bush said of his decision to retire. While Bush is skeptical of quickly transitioning to a less structured life, he's looking forward to spending time with his family and getting back to old hobbies. "Bush has served under 9 chief justices, adjudicated more than 300,000 cases, and presided over the circuit's first DNA case, an historic advancement for evidence in criminal cases.Bush reversed a jury's verdict of life without the possibly of parole in a 2009 capital murder case, sentencing Calvin McMillan to death, one of the few reversals recorded in this region.AUTAUGA CO., AL (WSFA) - After 30 years of serving in Autauga, Chilton, and Elmore Counties, Circuit Judge John Bush is hanging up his robe. That date is not picked at random.“I just like being out in the woods,” he said. Robert Bentley will make the appointment to serve out the remaining two years of his term.And don’t forget the hunting, which promises to take up a lot of newly free time for the avid outdoorsman.“But as a matter of fact it also has a substantial impact on the prison system in relation to overcrowding.”He’s seen a lot of changes during his four decades of service. This will be Cole’s last term, since state law bars judges from seeking re-election after their 70th birthday.
“You spend a lot of time in the courthouses. President Bush has moved quickly to nominate a new chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I may not be in the woods on the 15th, but I hope to be in the woods by the 17th.” His chambers are in Louisville, Kentucky.
He was honored by acting Chief Justice Lyn Stewart, who commended Bush for helping her with a massive caseload while she was a circuit judge in Baldwin County.Bush fought for truth in sentencing to go into effect and says he's disappointed he didn't get to see that come to fruition while on the bench.