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293 Ala. 178

301 So.2d 55

Bowling v. Pow

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided September 19, 1974

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1974-09-19

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“is without limitation as to duties and functions and that under such assignment a supernumerary circuit judge has the authority to vote on cases before the court.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including City of Bessemer v. McClain

“under the provisions of Section 6.10 [now § 149] of the new Judicial Article.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including City of Bessemer v. McClain

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1974-09-19

How this case has been cited

Cited by 40 later decisions — most recently September 2013 · most notably United States Steel Corp. v. Elton H. Darby, Defendant-Third Party v. Southern Fabricating Company, Inc., Third Party (1975), Fraternal Order of Police, Strawberry Lodge 40 v. Entrekin (1975)

2 federal appellate · 34 state decisions

24019741980199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

BLOODWORTH, Justice

¶1(dissenting).

¶2I must dissent as I do not believe that Dr. Pow’s letter in direct response to the letter of Dr. Bowling asking Dr. Pow to respond can, in any fashion, be characterized as defamatory per se or per quod. I would affirm the trial judge’s decision granting the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, believing the trial judge to have been eminently correct.

MERRILL and COLEMAN, JJ., concur.

¶3PER CURIAM.

¶4On the 3rd day of July, 1974, the Chief Justice assigned the Honorable LEIGH CLARK, Supernumerary Circuit Judge, for temporary service on the Supreme Court of Alabama from that date through October 5, 1974 under the provisions of Section 6.10 of the new Judicial Article (Constitutional Amendment No. 328). Following such order Supernumerary Circuit Judge Clark was assigned the task of preparing an opinion for this court in this cause.

¶5This court construes the language of said Section 6.10, “The Chief Justice may assign … supernumerary justices and judges, … for temporary service in any court.” as meaning that such assignment is without limitation as to duties and functions and that under such an assignment a supernumerary circuit judge has the authority to vote on cases before the court.

Justices HARWOOD, MADDOX and McCALL recused themselves from this case. The vote for reversal and remandment was 4 to 3. The concurrence of 4 members of this court suffices. Title 13, § 14, Code of Alabama 1940, as amended (Recompiled 1958-1973 Cumulative Supplement) .HEFLIN, C. J., and MERRILL, BLOODWORTH, FAULKNER and JONES, JJ., concur.
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