Who is running for Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 5 in 2026?

Assistant Attorney General, State of Alabama

Riggs Walker is an Assistant Attorney General who represents the state in criminal appeals and previously spent about 20 years as a deputy district attorney in the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office¹². He earned his bachelor's degree from Auburn University in 1991 and his law degree from Jones School of Law in 1998¹². He is the Republican nominee for Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5 and is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot⁵.

• Assistant Attorney General, State of Alabama, for about the last six years, representing the state before the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Supreme Court of Alabama and federal courts¹²
• Deputy District Attorney, Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, from 1999 for roughly 20 years¹²³
• Law clerk to Circuit Judge William A. Shashy, 15th Judicial Circuit (Montgomery County), 1998 to 1999²³
• B.A. in Speech Communication, Auburn University, 1991; J.D., Jones School of Law, 1998¹²
• Not a sitting judge. He announced for Place 5 in February 2026 as a challenger to incumbent Judge Beth Kellum, who had qualified for reelection in January 2026¹²⁶; Ballotpedia lists Kellum among withdrawn or disqualified candidates, the Republican primary was canceled, and Walker is the only candidate on the November ballot⁴⁵. He previously lost the 2016 general election for Jefferson County District Court Place 4⁴ and ran in the 2018 Republican primary for Court of Criminal Appeals Place 1³.