Nabers lights a fire

Alabama Chief Justice Drayton Nabers said Tuesday that he has modified court policies to allow for reassignment of cases if justices move too slowly in clearing backlogs. That means Justice Tom Parker, who has finished 12 direct appeals and written two opinions for the court since January 2005 and now wants Nabers' job, must clear at least 10 cases a month to avoid reassignments.

The kicker line from Nabers, who never mentioned Parker by name: "The court as a whole is within its standards, though each justice on the court is not evenly within the standards."