Perry Oliver Hooper, Sr. (born April 8, 1925, in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American jurist who served as the twenty-seventh Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 1995 to 2001. He was the first Republican to have been elected to his state's highest court.
Hooper attended Birmingham Southern College and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa after service in the United States Marine Corps. After receipt of his Juris Doctor degree at UA, he entered private practice. In 1964, during the Barry Goldwater sweep of Alabama, Hooper was elected probate judge of Montgomery County, Alabama, the first Republican to have been elected to that position since the 19th century. He continued in that position until 1974, when was elected Circuit Judge of Alabama's 15th Judicial Circuit. In 1983, he returned to private practice.
In 1968, Hooper was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate for the open seat vacated by retiring Democrat Lister Hill. He received 201,277 votes (24 percent) to 638,774 (76 percent) for the Democratic nominee, then Lieutenant Governor James B. Allen, a conservative whose views were similar to those of Hooper. Hooper polled 54,304 more votes in his statewide race than did his party's presidential nominee, Richard Nixon. Hooper narrowly held his home county of Montgomery County and fared best among upper-income whites, having received two thirds of the vote in higher socio-economic precincts in both Montgomery and Birmingham. Lower-income whites, conversely, supported Allen by a wide margin. In eleven of the state's sixty-seven counties, Hooper failed to reach double digits. Years later, Hooper recalled that many voters "didn't know" that he was in the race: "They only knew that George Wallace was carrying the banner [for President]... People didn't dislike Nixon, they just like Wallace, who sounded... Republican," Hooper said.
In 1994, Hooper was narrowly elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, the first Republican in that position. He was sworn in on October 20, 1995, almost exactly nine months into when his term should have begun. Sonny Hornsby, the sitting Democrat Chief Justice whom he defeated sued in court to keep the seat. Hornsby refusted to leave office until finally losing the court case. Hooper remained Chief Justice until his retirement in 2001.
Hooper's son, Perry Hooper, Jr. (born 1955), also of Montgomery, is a former Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives. Hooper, Jr., was the unsuccessful Republican Party nominee for the Alabama Public Service Commission in the general election held on November 7, 2006.
Perry Hooper, Sr. is currently retired and lives with his wife, Marilyn Yost Hooper, in Montgomery, Alabama. They had four boys: Perry Jr., Walter, Conwell, and John Hooper. They also have 9 grandchildren: Perry III, Thomas, Davis, Neely, Holly, Wells, William, John and Mari Conlee Hooper. Leisurely, Perry Hooper Sr. enjoys playing golf and watching University of Alabama football.
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| Preceded by Ernest C. Hornsby |
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama 1995–2001 |
Succeeded by Roy Moore |
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