MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — A retired Circuit Court judge is no longer assisting the court on criminal cases after a possible conflict of interest was found between him, the city of Mobile, and the Mobile Police Department.
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According to Presiding Circuit Court Judge Honorable S. Wesley Pipes, the conflict of interest involves Judge Charlie Graddick and his work as a lawyer for the City’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
“We have been informed that the existence of this attorney-client relationship requires him to recuse from prosecutions involving the Mobile Police Department and that, even though he may not be aware of the requirement to do so, he should have recused from those matters he presided over in the past two years involving the MPD,” said Judge Pipes.
Judge Graddick retired in 2020 but after the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2022 was asked to assist in clearing the backlog of criminal cases under interim active duty status.