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Supreme Court ruling sought on bar's jurisidiction in DuBose case The Alabama State Bar Association filed a writ of mandamus with the Alabama Supreme Court last week, seeking to retain jurisdiction in the Stuart DuBose attorney misconduct case. Tony McLain, general counsel for the bar association, explained that the bar's Board of Disciplinary Appeals acted on an appeal filed by DuBose about three weeks ago, ruling in DuBose's favor that the bar no longer has jurisdiction in the matter because DuBose is now a circuit judge. McLain said the bar contends that the misconduct occurred before DuBose was elected to office and while he was an attorney in private practice and that it does have proper jurisdiction to hear and act on the matter. That was the basis of the bar's appeal to the Supreme Court. The bar's disciplinary commission last fall accepted a "conditional guilty plea" from DuBose that would have imposed a 45-day suspension of his law license. The suspension would have fallen in such a fashion as to not affect his eligibility to be elected and to hold office as a circuit judge. DuBose defeated an opponent in the June 2006 Democratic primary and was elected without opposition in the November general election. The Alabama Supreme Court rejected the disciplinary action. Eight out of nine justices said the penalty wasn't severe enough and sent it back to the bar's disciplinary committee for its reconsideration. The case involved DuBose's 2003 preparation of a will for Joseph Sullivan at the request of Cheryl Weaver who was made the soul beneficiary. DuBose never conferred with Sullivan about the will. Sullivan died and the will was contested but withstood the contest. DuBose eventually became administrator of the estate, valued at several million dollars. He and Weaver were embroiled in a dispute over DuBose's hefty legal fee as well as control of other matters of the estate and the matter was set to go to trial last fall but was settled and the settlement terms not disclosed. The case came to the forefront again in recent weeks when the judge in the case, Judge John Lockett of Mobile, ruled that the settlement provisions had not been followed. He ordered a judgment against DuBose and the Sullivan estate and in favor of Weaver of nearly $1.2 million and further ordered DuBose to convey to Weaver 605 acres that he had divided between himself and Weaver.
McLain did not say when he thought the Supreme Court might act on the bar's appeal.
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