Alabama judge accused in misuse of $50k made ‘honest mistake,’ repaid money, attorney says

Alabama judge accused in misuse of $50k made ‘honest mistake,’ repaid money, attorney says

An Alabama judge indicted on 18 felony charges made honest and correctable mistakes, his attorneys said Tuesday.

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Gilbert P. Self, 62, of Florence, is charged with 16 counts of use of office for personal gain or for the gain of family members, one count of making a false representation to Examiners of Public Accounts, and one count of perjury, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Monday.

Self surrendered to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office.

Self, out of jail on $75,000 bond, is represented by attorneys J. Mark White of White Arnold & Dowd and Ralph Holt of Holt Mussleman Morgan & Alvis.

The alleged crimes happened from April 2020 through February 2023 when Self was the presiding judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which solely covers Lauderdale County.

Self is accused of using more than $50,000 of public funds to employ his son and the use of public funds for personal purchases such as a sofa, alcoholic beverages, and eyeglasses.

Authorities contend he also used 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.

Findings from an audit of Self were initially made public late last year.

White said Self cooperated with the auditors throughout the process.

“When they told him about the mistakes they saw, he acknowledged them as honest and correctable. In accordance with the Rules of the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts,’’ White said. “Judge Self voluntarily repaid the funds spent on these honest and correctable mistakes.”

As for the money spent on, or for the benefit of, other people, White said, Self did not go to those people to seek reimbursement but repaid the expenses himself.

“Judge Self, along with Judge Graves and Judge Powell, implemented improvements to the accounting and recordkeeping practices for the accounts at issue to prevent reoccurrence,’’ White said. “Most of the expenditures came during the Covid pandemic when Judge Self was more than fully occupied trying to keep the courts accessible and functioning.”

“The support from the citizens of Lauderdale County throughout this ordeal confirms Judge Self is not only a good judge, he is a good person,’’ White said. “We will continue to investigate the charges against him and look forward to presenting the facts demonstrating these charges should not have been made.”