DALE COUNTY, Ala (WDHN) — A Dale County District Judge presiding over juvenile court has been suspended following a state investigation into hundreds of cases.
Sources tell WDHN District Judge Stuart K. Smith was escorted out of the Dale County Courthouse Monday after he was suspended from the BAR and served the complaint from the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission.
Before his suspension, Judge Smith, who has served as a district judge since 2017, presided over all juvenile dependency and termination of parental rights cases, district civil cases, small claims cases, and child support enforcement. He was serving his second term.
According to the complaint, since taking the bench in 2017, Judge Smith has “failed” to carry out his duties as a judge and delayed issuing rulings and orders, halting a multitude of cases, sometimes for years.
“Judge Smith’s conduct has degraded the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and brought the judicial office into disrepute,” the complaint says. ” Judge Smith’s delay and lack of attention in handling his cases has harmed the litigants, families, and children of the cases he presides or has presided over.”
In May 2023, Judge Smith had approximately 334 open cases, and as of March 2024, 303 of those cases had not been resolved, according to the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission.
The complaint also claims Judge Smith failed to file mandatory six-month reports with the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts and dismissed juvenile cases without appointing a guardian to represent the children during the case.
The lawsuit says that in May 2023, the commission attempted to tell Judge Smith that he was being investigated but could not contact him via mail and phone calls on multiple occasions.
The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission said Judge Smith and his judicial assistant were often unavailable to clients and attorneys.
“They (Smith and his judicial assistant) were often unavailable, either in person or by phone, during regular business hours, even when no hearings were taking place. Although no judge is expected to be accessible at all times, Judge Smith took active steps to limit contact,”
Attorneys say those steps include ordering his assistant not to give out their public courthouse phone numbers or professional email addresses to anyone with complaints or questions.
WDHN has contacted Judge Smith and his office for comment but has not heard back.
You can read the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission’s full 87-page complaint below:
