Suspended judge ordered
to leave home, not harm family
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
Suspended and troubled Clarke County Circuit Judge Stuart C. DuBose Tuesday was ordered to vacate his Jackson, Ala. home and warned against "intimidating, threatening, hurting, harassing or in any way putting" his wife, their two daughters or her attorney in fear of their lives.
Judge Thomas Baxter issued the order in connection with Allyson T. DuBose's divorce petition against her husband, also filed Tuesday.
Baxter ordered the case file sealed and also the transcript of the hearing which led to the order "with the only exception being that said proceedings are available" to DuBose and his attorneys.
Mrs. DuBose's allegations "appeared" to justify a restraining order against the judge, Baxter ruled.
Mrs. DuBose's attorney, Gary Armstrong of Spanish Fort, said he didn't typically comment on pending litigation.
A message was left Wednesday morning with one of DuBose's lawyers, Clarence McDorman, who was not immediately available to comment.
After issuing the orders, Baxter then recused himself from any further actions in the case and requested that the state Supreme Court assign another judge to the case.
The DuBose saga has been a long one, playing out in public ever since his controversial and contentious election to the 1st Circuit bench.
He took office about 14 months ago. Grievances lingering from his private legal practice trailed him onto the bench, ultimately leading to a 113-page, 60-charge complaint lodged against him by the Judicial Inquiry Commission.
The judge claimed "diminished capacity" which impeded his "ability to make rational decisions" throughout the period during which he is alleged to have acted unethically.
Almost simultaneously with the divorce petition and its resulting temporary restraining order against the judge, attorneys for JIC asked that DuBose respond within seven days to their questions about his claim of diminished capacity.
JIC is entitled to know who "evaluated or treated" DuBose for his impairing condition, according to the lawyers for JIC.
DuBose's attorneys, Farley Moody of Calera and McDorman of Birmingham, contend that DuBose's state interferes with rational communication about the charges and his ability to comprehend them.
Treatment and evaluation of Dubose's health, both mental and physical, are "on-going," his lawyers stated, adding that the defense reserves the right to supplement his answer with further arguments based "on his physical and mental condition."
Dubose remains suspended with pay, pending trial before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.
Dubose won a hotly-contested Democratic primary in 2006. He had no GOP opposition, but lingering disputes from his conduct in private practice dogged him. Ultimately, he was seated on the judicial bench for the 1st Circuit while the state Supreme Court and the Alabama Bar Association tried to decide who had jurisdiction over Dubose.
Throughout much of his first year on the bench, Dubose stewed about the powers arrayed against him, including "Mobile judges and lawyers," according to testimony gathered in an investigation of his judicial conduct.
Earlier this year in the courthouse in Chatom, DuBose referred to "people who are trying to get me" and pledged "not to go gently into that good night," according to the complaint. Dubose denied making those remarks, the complaint notes.
The judge confirmed to JIC, the complaint states, that he had told some attorneys that despite his advancing years and physical infirmities, "...if need be, if I got differences, I can stomp a mud hole in an ass and walk it dry."
The matter has not yet been set for trial. Former District Attorney Tom Sorrells of Dothan will prosecute the case, serving as a supernumerary prosecutor assigned by JIC.
Sorrells has noted the relative rarity of a defense asserting diminished mental capacity. The prosecution contends that diminished capacity is not an acceptable defense to the charges.
A unanimous COJ verdict against DuBose would result in his permanent expulsion from the bench.
