Agnes Chappell

Agnes Chappell is a judge in the Domestic Relations division, Place 23 on the 10th Judicial Circuit of Alabama.

Chappell is the daughter of Reverend and Mrs Tommy Chappell. Her father was pastor of New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church. She attended Shades Valley High School and the University of Alabama, completing her law degree at the University of Alabama School of Law. She is thought to be the first African American woman to practice law in Jefferson County.

Chappell served as a senior trial referee at Jefferson County Family Court and was a partner in the firm of Brown, Chappell & Burrell, specializing in family law. She has also worked with Momentum Leadership and the Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham. She has served on the steering committee for Voices against Domestic Violence, and as a member of the Alabama Domestic Violence Statutory Revision Committee. She also worked with the Birmingham Police Department's "Birmingham Community Policing and Revitalization Division" (formerly the "Birmingham Weed & Seed Task Force").

Chappell founded New Rising Star's non-profit Community Support Corporation and served as its president. She mentors students through Rising Stars Learning Center and Bethel Learning Center, and also through Birmingham's "Shadow an Executive" program. She is a board member of the Zonta Club of Birmingham and chair of the Magic City Bar Association's judicial council.

She received the Metro Birmingham NAACP's "Equal Justice Award" in 2009 and the Magic City Bar Association honored her in 2011 for her efforts on behalf of victims of domestic violence. In 2013 she was honored by the North Central Girl Scouts of Alabama as a "Woman of Distinction", and by the Birmingham International Center as a "Motivating Woman".

Chappell spent fourteen years in the Birmingham Municipal Court, establishing its Domestic Violence Court. She won the 2010 Democratic primary for Place 20, but lost a close race to Republican Julie Palmer in the general election. She ran again to challenge Dorothea Batiste in the 2016 general election to win her present seat.

Chappell's son, Thomas Beavers is currently the pastor of New Rising Star.

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