Greg Shaw

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, 2024Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

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, 2024Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: apnews.com · researched July 4, 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, 2016Supports Civil Rights

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, 2015Supports Civil Rights

Source: cases.justia.com · researched July 24, 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

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, 2020Unfavorable on Impartiality

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, 2016Favorable on Impartiality

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, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: cases.justia.com · researched July 24, 2026