First Identical Twins To Serve Simultaneously As Judges In Birmingham

Shera Craig Grant and Shanta Craig Owens are the first set of identical twins to serve simultaneously as district court judges in Jefferson County.

Owens has been a district court judge since 2008. Grant officially joined her sister on the bench as a district court judge after being appointed by then Gov. Robert Bentley.

Both of the Birmingham natives graduated from Alabama State University. Both graduated from law school at Louisiana State University. While Grant went to Atlanta after law school and Owens came back to Birmingham, both ended up with jobs as prosecutors.

Grant was elected to Jefferson County District Court, place 5, in November 2016. Owens was re-elected to Jefferson County Drug Court in 2014. “Sometimes people say Shanta and I have had it easy when we really have not,” Grant said. Grant stated that in order to be successful you have to use your bad memories and experiences as motivation.

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