LaCour Confirmed as Federal Judge for the Northern District of Alabama
Previously served as Alabama’s Solicitor General since 2019
The U.S. Senate confirmed Eddie LaCour as a federal judge for the Northern District of Alabama on Wednesday, with a 51-47 vote along party lines. Both Alabama Senators, Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, voted to confirm LaCour.
LaCour now steps into the seat vacated earlier this year by Judge Scott Coogler, who retired from the bench.
LaCour has served as Alabama’s Solicitor General since 2019. Before that, he was deputy solicitor general and earlier held a partnership at the Washington, D.C. law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
Among his notable work, he argued for Alabama before the U.S. Supreme Court in Allen v. Milligan, a case in which the Court struck down a congressional map drawn by the state legislature as diluting Black voters’ rights under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
During his time as Solicitor General of Alabama, Edmund G. “LaCour” Jr. argued major cases with national impact. In Culley v. Marshall (2024), he represented Alabama before the U.S. Supreme Court in a dispute over whether extra preliminary hearings are required when a vehicle used in a drug offense is forfeited; the Court sided with Alabama’s approach. He also testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about emergency-proceedings practice at the Court.
U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) praised LaCour’s credentials, noting his admission to every U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, and called his legal acumen “unparalleled.” She added:
“I’m proud to see a fellow native of the Wiregrass serve Alabama and our country on the federal bench.”
Britt also expressed gratitude for working alongside Senator Tommy Tuberville and President Donald Trump in securing the confirmation.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall also weighed in:
“His unmatched skill and sharp constitutional insight earned him respect at every level of the judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court… We are incredibly proud to see Eddie bring his intellect, humility and dedication to the federal bench.”
LaCour was first nominated by President Trump in 2020 for a judgeship in the Middle District of Alabama, but Democrat Senator Doug Jones did not return a “blue slip,” effectively blocking the nomination. Trump renominated him, but the nomination was withdrawn when President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
With LaCour’s confirmation, Alabama’s federal bench gains one more judge experienced in major constitutional and voting-rights litigation. His prior work on high-profile cases signals the kind of federal docket he may engage with moving forward.
Edmund G. “Eddie” LaCour Jr. was born in Dothan, Alabama. He earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Birmingham-Southern College, then went on to receive a Master of Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin and a J.D. from Yale Law School. After law school, LaCour clerked for Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He later practiced at Baker Botts and Bancroft PLLC, before serving as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis. Since May 2019, he has served as Alabama’s Solicitor General, representing the State in appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the 11th Circuit.
