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Judge DuBose says State Bar no longer has jurisdiction in disciplinary case The Alabama Supreme Court may likely determine if the Alabama Bar Association has authority to discipline an attorney who is now a sitting circuit judge. A hearing on the Stuart DuBose case was held Monday at the bar association's Montgomery office Monday where the hearing board agreed to seek a judicial opinion on its jurisdiction in the matter, explained the bar's general counsel Tony McLain. DuBose is apparently claiming that the bar association, the professional organization that oversees attorneys in the state, no longer has jurisdiction because he is now a judge. DuBose and his attorney requested a summary judgment in his favor- a dismissal- from the disciplinary commission but the commission denied that, and seeks to retain jurisdiction in the case, McLain said Tuesday. The outcome of the case could very well determine whether Du- Bose continues to serve as a circuit judge. He took office Jan. 15 after being elected in 2006. DuBose is accused of inappropriate actions regarding his preparation of a will and the subsequent handling of the estate while he was a practicing attorney in Jackson. He reportedly never met the man he prepared a will for and he later became an executor of the estate. The bar accepted a "conditional guilty plea" from DuBose in October and imposed a 45-day law license suspension that would have started the day after the Nov. 7 general election when DuBose was formally elected to a First Judicial Circuit judgeship. The suspension would have ended in late December, weeks before his judicial term started. DuBose won the Democratic nomination to the office in June, defeating a challenger by about 100 votes. Some people were critical of the reprimand, saying it accommodated DuBose so as to not infringe upon his eligibility to be judge. He reportedly has to be a licensed attorney in order to serve as judge. The Alabama Supreme Court reviews all disciplinary actions of the bar association and ruled not long after the reprimand was imposed that DuBose was not penalized severely enough. The penalty was denied for "insufficiency of discipline based on the record before the court." Although the high court's ruling was dated Oct. 20, the bar's disciplinary commission did not immediately reschedule a hearing and DuBose, who had no general election opposition, was elected Nov. 7 and then took office Jan. 15. The case has drawn a lot of interest among judges and lawyers. If DuBose's license is revoked, either permanently or for a limited time, he apparently won't be eligible to continue to hold the office of judge.
The bar's McLain said that an appellant court may likely hear the jurisdiction question first but the Supreme Court will likely ultimately be called upon to rule in the matter. He said he did not know how long that would take.
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