The Alabama Ethics Commission has found probable cause that a state district court judge in Cullman County has violated the state’s ethics law.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Albritton says Cullman County District Court Judge Kim Chaney appointed his son, who is an attorney, to criminal cases in the district. The state ethics code says, in part, that public officials cannot use their offices to benefit themselves or family members.
Albritton says the commission is referring the matter to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office.
Judge Chaney’s attorney, Lance Bell, issued a statement saying he’s confident Chaney will be exonerated. Chaney has been a district judge in Cullman County since 1993.