By MARY SELL, Alabama Daily News
Montgomery attorney R. Austin Huffaker Jr. was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama Wednesday in a 89-4 vote by the U.S. Senate.
Alabama senators Doug Jones and Richard Shelby supported the nomination by President Donald Trump in July.
“Austin is well respected in the community, and I know that he will uphold the rule of law with the utmost integrity and honor,” Shelby said in a written statement. “I was proud to support his nomination and believe that he is the ideal candidate to serve in this prestigious position.”
Huffaker is a shareholder at the Montgomery firm Rushton, Stakely, Johnston and Garrett and focuses on complex commercial, product and lender liability and professional malpractice litigation, according to his biography on the firm’s website.
Huffaker graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served on the Alabama Law Review.
He was appointed in 2016 by the Alabama governor to a term on the Alabama Securities Commission and was appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court to the Alabama Civil Jury Charge Committee.
“Mr. Huffaker has an excellent reputation within the legal profession for his fairness, temperament and thoughtfulness,” Jones said in a written statement. “I believe he will serve with the utmost integrity on the bench and will represent Alabama with distinction.”