Perry O. Hooper, Sr., the son of Ernest and Mary Lou Perry Hooper, attended public schools in Birmingham. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he attended Birmingham Southern College and the University of Alabama, where he received his B.S. and Juris Doctor degrees.

After a short practice of law, he served as staff attorney for Justice Davis Stakely on the Alabama Supreme Court. He then served in the private practice of law until 1965, when he was elected Probate Judge of Montgomery County, then Circuit Judge of Montgomery County, a position that he held until 1983. He resumed the private practice of law until he was elected to serve as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1995.

Active in the community, Chief Justice Hooper is a member of the Capitol City Kiwanis Club. He served as President of the School PTA twice, and coached football and basketball in the youth leagues for many years.

Chief Justice Hooper is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, where he teaches Sunday School. He is married to the former Marilyn Yost of Montgomery, and they have four sons: Perry, Jr., Walter, Conwell, and John.

Source: Alabama Judicial System website.