Last Friday, District Judge Philip Seay received word from Gov. Robert Bentley that he had been appointed as the county’s circuit judge, replacing Charles Robinson, who retired last week.

“The interview was very thorough,” Seay said. “I was excited to hear that I was chosen, and chosen to go to work immediately.”

Seay started work Tuesday and has already filed briefs in Circuit capacity.

As of press time yesterday, Seay was also handling his district judge duties, as well. There has been no indication for his replacement, though local judges say the caseload in St. Clair warrants the governor to act quickly to fill the void in the county’s four-judge system.

“[Seay] had, as a district judge, one of the biggest caseloads in the state,” Robinson said. “My caseload, with the exception of two or possibly three capital cases I left, is in pretty good shape.”

“I would expect this governor’s office — much as they did when Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb’s retirement when they chose Chief Justice Chuck Malone — to move very quickly,” Seay said.

His colleague, Circuit Judge Jim Hill agreed. “I really hope (the governor) fills that vacancy real quickly. We’re one of the fastest growing counties in the state. So while the rest of the country might be in recession, we’re not and the casework shows that.”

Seay has been a judge in St. Clair County for six years. During that time he has presided over dockets including domestic violence court, adult and juvenile drug courts, felony and misdemeanor crimes, small claims and protection from abuse.

During his first four years, he managed the heaviest caseload in the state. He established St. Clair’s first dedicated Domestic Violence docket, which takes two days out of each month to preside over.

The county’s adult drug court has graduated 56 people since it began and has had zero felony re-offenders. Seay sat on the original community corrections board that aimed to help people who wanted to escape a life of drugs.

“It’s an awesome program for those folks choose to take part in … at no taxpayer expense,” Seay said. “There’s no prison expense, which I can point you to the numbers, average around $20,000 a year. They pay their taxes, child support; it’s a win-win program.”

He will continue to oversee that program as circuit judge.

Seay will retain his judicial assistant Kay Adams, and gain Robinson’s court reporter, Legay Barber.

Bentley’s appointment letter mentioned that “Honesty and integrity are two virtues that I prioritize for my administration to exemplify and I know that you will do the same while in service to our great state.”

Hill agreed.

“He has served very well for the last six years as district judge. He’s diligent, prompt in his manner. You need the same characteristics for both [district and circuit court]. I have all the confidence in the world that he’ll continue to serve in that way,” he said. “We have a good bench, a good bar and we all get along with each other. That doesn’t happen everywhere. But with him now being moved up, it creates a void and we need that void filled quickly.”

“Phil is a very energetic and smart person,” added Robinson. “He’s handled this Drug Court and he gets there and he has it at 7:30 a.m. on Friday and that’s good. That takes some time, so I think Phil is the right person to have gotten this job. I’m proud of him and he’s worked hard and I think he deserves the job.”

Seay moved into St. Clair in 1991 and is quick to say, “I love this county. I think it’s the best county in the state. I think it represents what we have going for us, representative by our growth, of course. I think it’s very important that people keep involved in this county in charity and community organizations.”

Last week, Seay was elected as president of the Lakeside Hospice Board, as well. “It’s a very important board that serves indigent, dying patients — as well as others — and it’s one of the few faith-based hospices in the state. I think it’s really important that we serve in those capacities.”

Seay is a graduate of Abbeville High School, earned a marketing degree from the University of Alabama and gained his law degree from Cumberland Law School at Samford University in 1992.

He was a member of the Army National Guard from 1989 92 with the #167 Support Command out of Birmingham.

He practiced law for three years with Church, Seay, Lasseter and Minor before becoming a judge.

He said the years he spent in a general practice “was a wonderful experience representing individual rights in St Clair County. It’s an experience I can’t replace. Some of those I represented are still friends and I treasure that as I treasure the judicial experience. I love getting to work every day.”

And what, specifically makes him enjoy his work so much?

“Probably the ability to go in to work and affect people’s lives in a positive way,” Seay said. “Whether it be in a case with several people or a drug court case or whatever the case may be. To interact with people and affect them in a positive way is satisfying to me.”