In 1985, McCool graduated from Pickens Academy as valedictorian. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1990, with a double major in history and classics (with a concentration in Greek). He graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1993, where he served on the Honor Court. He was a member of the Alabama Law Review.[1][2]
Career
After graduating law school, he practiced law with attorney C.O. Burkhalter. In 1995, he was appointed as a full-time assistant district attorney for Pickens County, and in 2001 he became district attorney for the 24th Judicial Circuit. He has also served as a municipal court judge for the municipalities of Reform and Pickensville and as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law from 1998 to 2000.[2] In July 2017, McCool announced his candidacy to serve as a judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.[3] On November 9, 2018, McCool was sworn in as a judge of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals after facing no opposition in the election.[4]
Alabama Supreme Court
In January 2023, McCool announced his run for a seat on the Supreme Court of Alabama. He would fill the vacancy left by Associate Justice Sarah Hicks Stewart, who ran for the position of chief justice.[5] On November 5, 2024, he went on to win election to the seat, unopposed.[6]
Personal life
McCool and his wife, Sherri, have been married since Valentine’s Day 1992. They attend Zion Primitive Baptist Church, where McCool has served as a pastor since 2012. Together, they have four children and one grandchild.[2]
Electoral history
2024 Alabama Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 1 election[6]
