[3] He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1849, and began private practice in Hagerstown, Maryland the next year.

In 1861, At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he authored the Alvey Resolution, which took a strong position in favor of states' rights.

[3] After the Civil War, Alvey served as a delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1867, where he was Chairman of the Committee on Representation.

[3] Alvey was nominated by President Grover Cleveland on April 14, 1893, to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia (now the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit), to the new Chief Justice seat authorized by 27 Stat.

[4] In 1896, as Chief Justice, Alvey served as a member of an American commission tasked with resolving a boundary dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana.