Steensland v. Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission

WOODALL, Justice.

M. John Steensland, Jr., a retired district judge in Houston County, appeals from a judgment of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (“the COJ”) that publicly censured him for judicial misconduct that preceded his retirement. We affirm.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Judge Steensland first assumed his duties as a district judge in Houston County in 1989. On January 20, 2009, he began to serve the six-year term to which he was elected in November 2008. Subsequently, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (“the JIC”) began an investigation based upon complaints against Judge…