Former Judicial Candidate Pleads Guilty

The charges against Phillips, who was an attorney practicing in Sylvania, were the result of an extensive inter-agency investigation that took place over the course of approximately three years.

Investigators with the Alabama State Bar Association were initially alerted to Phillips’s activities in 2019, prior to her being named as the Republican party candidate for the district judgeship occupied by Judge Steve Whitmire. A referral to proceed locally with an investigation was received by the District Attorney’s Office in early 2020. Led by DA’s Office Investigator Gary Williams, and with assistance from the Office of the Attorney General, law enforcement personnel conducted dozens of interviews and compiled thousands of documents.

She was taken into custody in March 2020 and transported to the DeKalb County Detention Center with her bond was set at $30,000. She was arrested again in April of this year on multiple charges and released on $75,000 bond.

The investigation revealed multiple incidents of theft, fraud,and financial exploitation that Phillips committed through varied and complex schemes over a span of several years. Some of the victims were clients of Phillips, while others were elderly individuals for whom she had been appointed as legal guardian or conservator. Losses to those victims, and to others who have since passed away or were otherwise unable to be located, were determined to be over $250,000.

The plea agreement contemplates that pending sentencing, Phillips will make payments toward the amounts of restitution owed and her efforts to make said payments, or lack thereof, will be considered in the State’s recommendations as to sentencing in February.

Assistant Attorney General John Kachelman and Assistant District Attorney Stanna Guice prosecuted the case against Phillips.

Deputy District Attorney Summer McWhorter said, “This was an extraordinarily long and complex process that involved multiple law enforcement and civilian contacts. We are especially grateful to Attorney General Steve Marshall for assigning Assistant AG John Kachelman to assist with the prosecution. The District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes unit, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Payne Police Department, the DeKalb County Probate Judge’s office, and multiple private businesses and citizens significantly contributed to the investigation of this case, and without any one of them we might not have been successful in reaching its resolution. The collective efforts within the community to bring information to light, and the determined cooperation of state and local agencies should be highly commended,” McWhorter said.

“Any criminal activity perpetrated by an attorney – a sworn officer of the court - is obviously cause for serious concern. But when that attorney has been appointed to act as a fiduciary on behalf of people who cannot act for themselves, and then commits a breach of that trust, the harm is significantly greater than that normally associated with theft or fraud. This was an intentional, premeditated course of conduct, occurring over many months or years, that targeted vulnerable people and left them with nothing. We know that the guilty plea itself doesn’t replace what the victims lost, but hopefully it will provide the first step toward closure for them.”

DeKalb County was left without a major party candidate to run for the position of district judge just days after the county Republican Executive Committee had the incumbent judge, Whitmire, disqualified from running on the GOP ballot in the March Primary because members felt he had not left the Democratic party as early as they felt he should have – a decision that was supported by the state executive committee. Whitmire ended up running for re-election as an independent and won another term without opposition after Phillips dropped out as the Republican challenger.

In relation to a complaint about handling money from third parties, Phillips agreed to disbarment by the Alabama Bar Association, prevents her from practicing law in the state for a period of five years. After that time, she can reapply to the bar, arguing why she deserves to be reinstated to practice law.

Under Alabama law, “theft by deception” is defined as using some form of deceit to take another’s property.

When contacted, Phillips has declined to make a public comment. In her candidate announcement in December 2019, she said, “I just hope the people of our great community will entrust me to decide cases fairly and impartially, free from political influence or intimidation. Regardless of my own personal views, I will follow the law.”