By PHILLIP RAWLS
Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will have to pick someone to help decide how far the state attorney general’s office can go in exploring the relationship between a former state senator and campaign aide charged with misusing campaign funds.
Three of the five members of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals have stepped aside from hearing an appeal filed by Attorney General Luther Strange’s staff.
The attorney general’s staffer wants the appeals court to overturn a ruling by Circuit Judge Randall Cole. He ruled prosecutors could present evidence of a personal relationship between former Sen. Lowell Barron and campaign aide Jill Johnson, but they couldn’t present evidence of a romantic relationship during a criminal trial for the two.