MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) – A retired judge who tried cases part-time has stopped all his judicial work due to a potential conflict of interest that could jeopardize the conviction, according to Mobile County’s chief judge.
Presiding District Judge Wesley Pipes confirmed Friday that Charles Graddick resigned after learning of a possible conflict of interest in matters he handled for the city involving the Mobile Police Department.
After retiring from the bench and later serving as head of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, Graddick worked for the Office of Professional Responsibility at the University of Mobile.
“We have been informed that, as a result of this attorney-client relationship, he must recuse himself from prosecutions related to the Mobile Police Department and that, while he may not have been aware of this obligation, he should have recuse himself from the cases he has handled related to the MPD over the past two years,” Pipes said in a statement.
Pipes told FOX10 News that the court has been in contact with attorneys for defendants convicted in cases investigated by the Mobile Police Department and presided over by Graddick.
Graddick, who served as Alabama’s attorney general in the 1980s and as chief district judge of Mobile County until his retirement, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said Friday that the city hired Graddick in January 2022 to work on behalf of the Office of Professional Responsibility. Graddick also presided over some cases where regular judges were unavailable or had conflicts of interest. A change in state law allowed Graddick to be compensated for that work in January of this year.
“We were recently made aware of a change in circumstances,” Stimpson said in a prepared statement. “In response, we immediately shared all relevant information to determine whether a conflict of interest exists. It has been determined that a potential conflict of interest exists with respect to some cases heard by Judge Graddick during the months between January and May 2024.”
Tara Zieman, a spokeswoman for the state attorney’s office, told FOX10 News that prosecutors had been informed that Graddick had a possible conflict of interest, but she could not immediately say how many cases were affected.
Zieman said new judges would be assigned.
“Otherwise, everything continues as usual for us,” she said.
Graddick served as Alabama’s Attorney General in the 1980s and as Chief District Judge of Mobile County until his retirement.
Updated at 2:41 p.m. with information from Presiding District Judge Wesley Pipes.
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