R. Austin Huffaker Jr., a Montgomery attorney, has been confirmed as the newest federal judge for the middle district of Alabama.
Huffaker was nominated by President Donald Trump in July and confirmed in a 90-4 vote by the U.S. Senate last week, with both Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Doug Jones voting for the confirmation.
A shareholder at Montgomery law firm Rushton, Stakely, Johnston & Garrett P.A., Huffaker has focused on complex commercial, product and lender liability, automobile dealership and professional malpractice litigation. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Alabama School of Law. He is also a commissioner with the Alabama Securities Commission.
The son of long-time Alabama attorney Robert Austin Huffaker, the newly confirmed judge is married to attorney Suzanne Huffaker, who currently serves as legislative counsel for the Alabama State Bar.
Speaking on the confirmation, Shelby said, “Austin is well respected in the community and I know that he will uphold the rule of law.”
Jones praised Huffaker for his “fairness, temperament and thoughtfulness.”
