Hearing canceled for lawyer charged in 'bizarre' attempted-murder case due to judge's recusal
It still isn’t clear from news reports exactly what an Alabama lawyer is accused of doing in an attempted murder case described by at least one local publication as “bizarre.”
And on Thursday a preliminary hearing that might have provided details about the Birmingham case was canceled after Jefferson County District Judge Shelly Watkins recused himself, reports AL.com.
Watkins stepped down at the request of defendant attorney James William “Jim” Woolley, 50, a family law and criminal defense practitioner. Watkins also recused himself from the cases of two co-defendants, although that was not requested, so that all three cases could be heard by the same judge.
Charged last month with attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery in a Jan. 25 incident at a private home, Woolley was released within a day or two on $150,000 bail, according to an earlier AL.com article.
Birmingham police arrested a trio of suspects in the theft of items including a wallet, a tactical knife and a piercing kit from a 28-year-old white male and said the perpetrators were armed with a machete, a pistol and bolt cutters. However, details about who is accused of doing what have not been forthcoming, AL.com says.
The state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case because of Woolley’s prior work as a lawyer in the county criminal justice system.
His law license was inactive when he was arrested because he had not paid annual state bar dues, WBRC reported at the time.
Attorney William “Chip” Bradford filed the recusal motion for Woolley but apparently has not commented on the case to AL.com.
Related coverage:
AL.com: “3rd person charged in bizarre kidnapping, robbery case involving Birmingham lawyer”
