Pre-trial conference reset for Lauderdale Co. judge charged with misuse of office, perjury

Yahoo

27-04-2025

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The status/pretrial conference date has been reset for June for the Lauderdale County judge indicted for misusing court funds and perjury, according to court records.
Court documents show that on March 14, both the State and the defense agreed to continue and reset the pretrial conference for Gilbert Self. It was previously set for March 17.
Lauderdale County Judge Tim Jolley filed the order to reset the pretrial conference for June 3.
Self was indicted in January 2024 on more than a dozen criminal counts of using his office for personal gain, perjury, and false statements.
Self surrendered himself to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Most of the charges relate to accusations that while he was presiding judge from April 2020 to February 2023, Self used court system money for travel and personal items. He's also accused of spending $50,000 to hire his son for a law library job in Lauderdale County without approval.
State financial records show he has been paid $131,583 since his indictment. That includes $7,294, twice a month. While he is not able to work as a judge, he's already been paid $14,879 for the current fiscal year that began in October.
The indictment shows Self used public funds for the following:
A double reclining console sofa
To pay Hobby Lobby to frame his son's college diploma
Two grab-and-go beers from Hotel Indigo, and/or a glass of Gramona, Tito's, a Cahaba Blonde and a chocolate martini from Chez Fonfon
Prescription eyeglasses
'He is further charged with using his office to reimburse himself with public funds for a variety of vacations, including a ski trip to Montana, a beach trip, a cycling trip across three states, and a trip to St. Ignace, Michigan. The indictment also charges him with paying himself out of public funds for travel to events he did not attend in Reno, Nevada; Duck Key, Florida; Mackinac Island, Michigan; and Alabama,' the announcement from Marshall's office states.
The indictment also accuses Self of 'double-dipping' for per diem and mileage and making false representations to the Examiners of Public Accounts during an audit. It also charges him with making a false statement during sworn testimony in front of a Lauderdale County Grand Jury in 2024.
Following his January arrest, Self issued a statement saying he made honest but correctable mistakes using two court bank accounts he supervised. You can read that statement here.
On March 11, 2024, Self's attorney filed a motion stating 'the indictment sufficientlystates the offense as required by Rule 13.2, and because the defense is already in possessionof all of the information that they seek.'
The motion also says that, in addition to the discovery provided, the indictment is quite clear as to what is alleged to be criminal. Prosecutors say in Self's grand jury testimony, he claimed that he spoke to a law library board member about the job for his son.
An April 2 hearing was centered around the perjury charge. Self's lawyers argued the indictment failed to clearly describe what he did wrong and asked for a 'more definite statement.' The defense asked prosecutors from the Alabama Attorney General's Office to provide what part of his testimony was false, who gave the approval for the hiring, and how his conduct violated the law.
Judge Tim Jolley denied Self's claims. The judge's order said he found prosecutors did provide the defense with details of the charge and that the charge was clear enough to present at trial.
On Dec. 26, Self's attorneys filed a brief arguing that evidence regarding Self's possibility of being unaware of the illegality of his actions is relevant because it could rebut the intent argued by prosecutors. The defense argues that, while ignorance of the law is not usually a valid criminal defense, Self acted while relying on an official statement of the law, namely the Alabama Law Code.
The defense cites an exemption in the code allowing for the defense if the person's 'mistaken belief is founded upon an official statement of the law contained in a statute or the latest judicial decision of the highest state or federal court which has decided on the matter.'
Self's attorneys argue he believed he was acting under the statute that allows circuit courts to use money from a judicial administration fund for 'other expenses as individually determined necessary by the presiding circuit judge or any circuit clerk to promote efficient administration of justice.'
In its response filed on Dec. 31, court documents show the prosecution argued that Self's behavior may have been excusable under the law if, as an example, he unknowingly hired a long-lost family member it does not cover him knowingly hiring a family member because he believed he could.
The state argued that there is a similar issue with personal purchases in the case. They said that instead, Self argues that he believed 'he had the right to expend State funds on vacations, alcoholic beverages for himself and his family, and personal items.'
Prosecutors said that is an 'ignorance of the law' defense, not a factual mistake like Self is arguing.
The state also said that no reasonable reading of the law would permit a judge to use funds for trips, personal purchases or alcohol. Prosecutors argue that the legislature could have chosen to carve out a legal right for judges to use funds for vacations, but did not.
If Self is convicted, the attorney general's office said he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine for each of the sixteen charges for violating the Ethics Law and up to 10 years of imprisonment and a $15,000 fine for making a false statement to the Examiners and for perjury.
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