Overview
- A federal grand jury charged Carl S. Charles with making a false statement during a 2022 judicial inquiry into alleged efforts to steer Alabama transgender-care litigation to a preferred judge, with the indictment unsealed Monday.
- Charles pleaded not guilty in Montgomery as Lambda Legal condemned the case as governmental overreach and asserted the phone call at issue was lawful.
- The indictment says Charles initially denied calling a judge’s chambers about case assignment, then corrected his testimony to say he spoke with a clerk and apologized.
- The case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 17 in Montgomery and has been assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga after Middle District judges recused.
- The prosecution follows sanctions by U.S. District Judge Liles Burke over tactics he said sought to “game the system,” with reporters noting such criminal cases are rare and the underlying Alabama ban now enforceable after appellate reversal and a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a similar Tennessee law.