Lawyers will give closing arguments this morning in the judicial ethics trial of Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd, who is accused by the Judicial Inquiry Commission of not following orders stemming from a previous ethics conviction.

Todd has denied the allegations and testified in her defense. Todd, a criminal court trial judge, was elected in 2012 and reelected in 2018. Her case is before the nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which could impose a range of sanctions if it finds her guilty, including removal from the bench.

Todd has been suspended with pay since the JIC filed its complaint in March.

Last year, the Court of the Judiciary found Todd guilty of violating canons of judicial ethics, ruling that she disregarded the rulings of appellate courts and abandoned the role of a neutral arbiter to become an advocate for defendants and for her own rulings and opinions, among other findings. Todd, who had been suspended with pay while that case was pending, was ordered to return to work on Dec. 6 and serve a period of 90 days without pay.

In the current case, the JIC alleges that Todd did not fully comply with that order to return to work in December. Todd has acknowledged that she stayed in Chicago, where her husband lives, until about Feb. 23. But Todd said she did resume work as ordered by the JIC, working remotely and communicating with her staff. Todd acknowledged she did not disclose to other judges, including the court’s presiding judge, that she was in Chicago. But she said she was not trying to hide the fact and said it was well known that she was frequently at her husband’s home in Chicago.

The JIC said Todd made false or misleading statements about her return to work and failed to make provisions for her cases when she said she was ill. Todd says illnesses in her family interfered with her efforts to return to work. She also said she would have been ready to resume hearing cases sooner if she had been assigned them sooner.

Todd finished her testimony on Sept. 16. The case has been on hold since because of the schedules of the nine members of the Court of the Judiciary.

This story will be updated.