Greg Shaw
Republican · AL · Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
Greg Shaw is an associate justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and the 2026 Republican nominee for Associate Justice, Place 8.
Track record
Women's Reproductive Rights
· 2 records
In a case about frozen embryos destroyed at a fertility clinic (LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine), the court ruled 7-2 that parents could sue for wrongful death. Shaw wrote a separate opinion agreeing with the ruling, and Justice Sarah Stewart joined it. He wrote that under Alabama law the word 'child' includes an unborn child, with no difference between embryos in a lab or in the womb. After the ruling, several Alabama fertility clinics paused their work. Within three weeks, state lawmakers passed a law protecting clinics from these lawsuits.
February 16, 2024Against
Source: fedsoc.org · researched July 24, 2026
In the 2024 Alabama Supreme Court frozen-embryo/IVF case, Shaw concurred in the decision allowing wrongful-death claims for destroyed embryos and wrote a special opinion; the ruling temporarily halted IVF services statewide before legislative action.
February 16, 2024Against
Source: apnews.com · researched July 4, 2026
Civil Rights
· 2 records
The Alabama Supreme Court dismissed petitions from groups that opposed same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling. Chief Justice Roy Moore claimed the dismissal kept an older order against same-sex marriage licenses in place. Shaw wrote separately to disagree. He wrote that the court could do nothing to let probate judges ignore a federal court order and a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
March 4, 2016For
Source: abajournal.com · researched July 24, 2026
After a federal judge struck down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage, the Alabama Supreme Court voted 7-1 to order probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Shaw was the only justice to dissent. He argued the state court did not have the power (jurisdiction) to issue that order.
March 4, 2015For
Source: ballotpedia.org · researched July 24, 2026
General
· 5 records
Campaign finance reports as of May 1, 2026 listed Shaw with $25,500 raised, $3,500 in other receipts, $3,850 spent, and $25,150 cash on hand in the Alabama Supreme Court Place 8 race.
May 1, 2026
Source: en.wikipedia.org · researched July 4, 2026
The Alabama Farmers Federation endorsed Shaw for Alabama Supreme Court Place 8 in the 2026 election cycle.
September 30, 2025
Source: coreyhillforalabama.com · researched July 4, 2026
Shaw was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2008 and re-elected in 2014 and 2020.
November 3, 2020
Source: en.wikipedia.org · researched July 4, 2026
Shaw became a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court on January 20, 2009 after winning the 2008 election. Before that, he served about eight years as a judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, starting in 2001. In 2007 he was also named chief judge of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, the court that handles complaints against judges. Earlier, he worked about 15 years as the senior staff lawyer for Alabama Supreme Court Justice Gorman Houston.
January 20, 2009
Source: ballotpedia.org · researched July 24, 2026
Shaw has served as an Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court since January 2009 after serving on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals from 2001 to 2009.
January 20, 2009
Source: en.wikipedia.org · researched July 4, 2026
Impartiality
· 2 records
In a 2020 study of state supreme court justices, Ballotpedia gave Shaw a 'Strong Republican' confidence score. The score measured how partisan his behavior was before he joined the court. A separate 2012 academic study of campaign money gave him a score showing a conservative leaning, matching the average for Alabama justices.
June 1, 2020Against
Source: ballotpedia.org · researched July 24, 2026
The Alabama Supreme Court dismissed petitions from groups that opposed same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling. Chief Justice Roy Moore claimed the dismissal kept an older order against same-sex marriage licenses in place. Shaw wrote separately to disagree. He wrote that the court could do nothing to let probate judges ignore a federal court order and a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
March 4, 2016For
Source: abajournal.com · researched July 24, 2026
Legal Competence
· 2 records
Longtime Alabama political columnist Steve Flowers published a column praising Shaw as a steady, conservative judge. Flowers noted Shaw had done appeals work for the state for 40 years, including 24 years as an appeals judge or justice. The column described Shaw's service as diligent, quiet, and steady as he sought his final six-year term.
April 23, 2025For
Source: alreporter.com · researched July 24, 2026
After a federal judge struck down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage, the Alabama Supreme Court voted 7-1 to order probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Shaw was the only justice to dissent. He argued the state court did not have the power (jurisdiction) to issue that order.
March 4, 2015For
Source: ballotpedia.org · researched July 24, 2026
Elections
- Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Place 8 · November 3, 2026 · Alabama
Profile last researched July 4, 2026.