Jefferson County judge removed from bench for behavior

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge who handles domestic relations cases was removed from office Friday after being accused of inappropriate behavior that included making derogatory comments about other judges and using fake social media accounts to communicate with people in a case.

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary issued the order removing Nakita Blocton from her position as a circuit judge in Jefferson County. The court ruled Blocton had demonstrated a pattern of inappropriate behavior and comments as well as a pattern of deception and dishonesty.

Blocton’s attorney, Emory Anthony, told al.com Friday that Blocton could choose to appeal the ruling.

“We were trying to keep her on the bench, and we were disappointed they removed her from the bench,” Anthony said.

The nine-member court said Blocton had engaged in a pattern of being abusive toward staff, including ordering them to show her their cell phones so information related to the disciplinary investigation against her could be deleted.

The court said Blocton had a pattern of inappropriate remarks such as calling one judge an “Uncle Tom” and calling an employee a “heifer.”

The court said that Blocton used Facebook aliases to communicate with litigants in a domestic violence case in an “effort to affect the outcome of the case.”

She also failed to promptly dispose of cases on her docket or remedy a case backlog, the court found.

The Judicial Inquiry Commission filed a complaint against Blocton in May. The Court of the Judiciary rejected commission allegations that Blocton was mentally unstable, saying that had not been proven.