WBRC reported that attorneys hit pause on Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd’s trial on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The trial was scheduled for two days but will require additional time.

On March 16, 2022, the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) filed a complaint against Judge Todd for refusing to follow the orders of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary after returning to the bench in December 2021. The JIC alleged that the judge violated multiple Canons of Judicial Ethics.

On July 6, 2022, Judge Todd filed a ‘Motion to Stay Proceedings’ in the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, requesting that the court enter an order staying the matter until the Petition for Writ of Mandamus is decided by the Alabama Supreme Court.

Prior to her reinstatement in December 2021, Todd’s legal team claimed that Judge Todd was in Chicago, where her husband resides. Todd became ill with family sickness shortly after she was told to return to the courtroom and had to be quarantined. She later fell ill and didn’t come back to Alabama until the middle of February.

According to WBRC:

“The JIC alleges the lack of communication from Todd during this time created confusion and frustration at the courthouse. Testimony indicated some of the cases that were assigned back to Todd’s docket after her reinstatement wasn’t reset by her office, prompting attorneys and defendants to show up to court and she wasn’t present. Other JIC witnesses explained Todd failed to log into the state’s court software, Alacourt, from December until March.”

The JIC requested testimony from Jefferson County Circuit Judges Michael Streety, Ketchia Davis, Teresa Pulliam, and Elizabeth French. Davis and Pulliam spoke about the confusion they encountered when defendants and attorneys showed up in Todd’s courtroom for a hearing but no one was there or they were unable to get an answer regarding the outcome of their cases.

WBRC reported that:

“Todd’s team referred back to emails during cross-examination that indicated Todd was in communication and was working virtually in Chicago. The JIC in turn pointed back to emails where Todd failed to address direct questions about how to address attorneys and prosecutors who were asking questions about her docket. While her office didn’t have direct information on Todd’s docket and when it would resume, most knew all urgent matters involving Todd’s cases would need to go before the on-call judge.”

WBRC concluded that:

“The COJ is expected to file an order on when the trial will resume. Due to the complexities of scheduling with nine judges and multiple attorneys, it could be weeks. If found guilty, Todd could face a range of sanctions, including being removed from the bench.”

The Judge earned a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Source: WBRC

 

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