Cullman County’s longest-serving judge has retired, with the announcement this week that District Judge Kim Chaney has left the bench after 27 years.

Chaney, who was serving his fifth term as district judge for Alabama’s 32nd Judicial Circuit, told court staff this week that he is stepping down following a lengthy career that has seen the creation of numerous advocacy programs for crime victims, at-risk youth and drug rehabilitation under his tenure. 

According to information provided by the Cullman County Circuit Clerk’s office, Chaney’s caseload will temporarily be redistributed among the circuit’s three remaining judges: Circuit Judges Greg Nicholas and Martha Williams and District Judge Rusty Turner. 

The day-to-day effect of the shared burden will likely begin to be felt next week, when district court dockets for misdemeanor trials, drug court and traffic trials — all dockets over which Chaney presided — are scheduled.

Chaney’s temporary replacement will be appointed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, following a local vetting process that will see the Cullman County Republican Party’s executive committee recommend three applicants for the position. Recommendations will likely be forwarded to the governor’s office, at the earliest, following the committee’s March 5 meeting. 

The vacancy left by Chaney’s mid-term retirement isn’t the first time Cullman’s circuit court has been left temporarily understaffed. In 2011, former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Turner to fill the district judge vacancy left by Nicholas, whom Bentley moved into an open circuit judge position following the retirement of longtime Circuit Judge Frank Brunner.

Chaney’s long career met with controversy in 2017, when the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause to refer an ethics complaint against him to the Alabama Attorney General’s office. That complaint alleged that Chaney had violated state ethics law by allegedly appointing his son, local attorney Alex Chaney, to state-defended cases on the court docket. 

Earlier this month, a complaint by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) reasserted those allegations, accusing Chaney of appointing his son to more than 200 cases, some of which came before his court. In 2012, Bentley appointed Chaney to serve on the JIC, a position he held until April of 2016. Chaney could not be reached by The Times for comment.