District Attorney Daryl Bailey is in the process of retiring, and he expects his chief deputy to succeed him should Gov. Kay Ivey choose to confirm her.
Bailey is waiting to begin his retirement until Ivey confirms Chief Deputy Azzie Oliver as district attorney, he said Tuesday afternoon at his retirement ceremony at the First Baptist Church on South Perry Street.
Bailey has worked in the office since June 10, 1997. He started his work there as an intern who fetched mail and assisted attorneys in the office, Supernumerary District Attorney Ellen Brooks said.
Brooks was Bailey’s predecessor. She hired Bailey to work for free, and she also eventually promoted him to be her chief deputy in 2002. “This young whippersnapper walks in and says, ‘I’m going to Jones Law School. Don’t you need an intern?'” Brooks recalled with a laugh.
Bailey began trying cases as a third-year law student. Brooks hired him as an attorney after he passed the bar.
She described Bailey as loyal to the people of Montgomery County. When Brooks resigned, Bailey became the district attorney with no warning, she said.