Hon. Donna S. Pate
Circuit Judge
Phone: 256-532-3631
Donna Pate is a tifetong resident of Madison County, Atabama. She earned a B.A. degree in Political Science from David Lipscomb College in 1979, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1982. She served as law clerk for United States District Judge E. B. Haltom, Jr. prior to entering private practice in Huntsville, Alabama in 1983. She practiced in the areas of civil litigation and education law for twenty-nine years, first with Ford Catdwett Ford & Payne, then with its successor firm, Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne P.C. She was active on both the local and state bar levels, serving as President of the Madison County Bar Association, member and chairman of the Madison County Judicial Commission, and Alabama State Bar Commissioner for three terms. She was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2OO7.
She was appointed Circuit Judge in February,2012 and was subsequently reelected in2012,2018 and 2024.