A longtime Mobile attorney and former federal prosecutor was booked Saturday on a first-degree theft of property warrant.
Willie Julius Huntley Jr., 68, turned himself in to Mobile County Metro Jail at 10:40 a.m. Sept. 5 on a warrant for first-degree theft of property, according to Mobile County Sheriff’s Office jail records. He was released at 12:22 p.m. on a $7,500 bond.
A Four-Decade Legal Career
Huntley has practiced law in Alabama for more than four decades. An Auburn University graduate and former Tigers running back, he earned his law degree from Cumberland School of Law in 1984 before clerking for a federal judge and serving as both a state and a federal prosecutor.
He later entered private practice in Mobile, where his work included criminal defense, civil rights and personal injury cases.
In 2017, Huntley testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general — an appearance that put a Mobile practitioner in front of a national audience at a moment of considerable political attention.
Suspended Since January
State bar records show Huntley was suspended from practicing law in Alabama effective Jan. 5, 2026.
According to the disciplinary record, the suspension was based on an order from the Alabama State Bar Disciplinary Commission after Huntley failed to respond to requests for information and failed to act as directed regarding client funds held in trust in a pending disciplinary matter.
That description points to one of the most serious categories in attorney discipline. Lawyers are required to hold client and third-party funds in separate trust accounts — commonly called IOLTA accounts in Alabama and most other states — entirely apart from the firm’s operating money. Trust account obligations are close to absolute: the money is not the lawyer’s, it must be accounted for at all times, and it must be delivered promptly when the client or a third party is entitled to it.
Bar authorities treat trust account irregularities with particular urgency because client funds are at immediate risk. A failure to respond to bar inquiries compounds the problem, since the disciplinary system depends on lawyers cooperating with investigations into their own conduct.
A Related Civil Complaint
Criminal charging documents were not available as of Saturday. A recent civil complaint filed in Mobile County, however, accuses Huntley and his law firm of conversion over $118,000.
The lawsuit, filed July 29 in Mobile County, names Huntley and his firm, Huntley, Jordan & Ross, LLC, as defendants. The plaintiffs are C. James Fields, James Fields Trucking and Logging LLC, and Isaiah Walton, on behalf of J.A. Walton heirs.
The complaint alleges the plaintiffs paid $118,000 into escrow under a timber-cutting contract involving property owned by the heirs of J.A. Walton in Hale County, and that Huntley and his firm managed that escrow.
According to the complaint, neither Huntley nor the firm has returned the money. The plaintiffs seek damages on claims of conversion and unjust enrichment.
The allegations in a civil complaint are unproven allegations. The complaint has not been adjudicated, and no connection between the civil case and the criminal warrant has been confirmed by authorities.
What a First-Degree Theft Charge Carries
Theft of property in the first degree is a Class B felony in Alabama, punishable by not less than two and not more than 20 years.
Alabama grades theft by the value of the property involved, with first-degree theft reserved for the highest value tier. The threshold has been adjusted by the Legislature over time; the charge signals that prosecutors allege a substantial sum.
Alabama’s theft statute expressly includes obtaining or exerting unauthorized control over the property of another with intent to deprive the owner of it. That formulation encompasses situations in which property was lawfully received but then not returned or accounted for — which is why escrow and trust fund disputes can produce criminal exposure rather than only civil liability.
Bond and Process
The $7,500 bond and the roughly hour-and-45-minute stay at Metro Jail reflect a routine booking on a warrant for a defendant who surrendered voluntarily. Bond amounts turn on the charge, criminal history and flight risk, and a defendant with deep local roots who arranges his own surrender ordinarily receives a bond he can post.
From here, the case would follow a standard Alabama felony track: a preliminary hearing in district court to determine probable cause, or direct presentation to a Mobile County grand jury. An indictment would move the matter to circuit court for arraignment.
Presumption of Innocence
The warrant is an accusation. Huntley has not been convicted of anything, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until the State proves the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
That principle is worth stating plainly in a case involving a defendant who spent much of his career invoking it on behalf of others.
Parallel Tracks
Cases like this often proceed on three separate tracks at once, each with its own standard and its own consequences.
The criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt and carries the possibility of incarceration. The civil case requires only a preponderance of the evidence and seeks money. The bar disciplinary proceeding is neither criminal nor civil but a licensing matter, governed by the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, with sanctions ranging from private reprimand to disbarment.
The three can reach different outcomes on the same underlying facts. A lawyer can be disciplined on conduct that never produces a criminal conviction; a criminal acquittal does not restore a suspended license; and a civil judgment can follow either result.
South Alabama News will update this report as charging documents become available and the case proceeds.