Aug. 5 vote found cause to hold Dexter Hinton violated the Ethics Act; a referral is not a charge
The Alabama Ethics Commission voted 5-0 Aug. 5 that “there exists cause to hold that Dexter Hinton has violated the Alabama Ethics Act” and that the Marion mayor’s case be referred to a district attorney, according to the commission’s minutes of that meeting, posted on its website.
The motion in Case No. 2025-0575 referred the case “for review and appropriate legal action to the District Attorney of the appropriate Judicial Circuit.” The minutes do not name the circuit or the district attorney.
A finding of cause and a referral are not a criminal charge.
The minutes do not describe the conduct at issue, cite a section of the Ethics Act or give any dollar amount.
Commission member David R. Pruet III made the motion, and Vice Chair George Pierce seconded it. All five members were present.
In a separate case, No. 2026-0016, the commission voted 5-0 that “there exists cause to hold that Kimberly Bell has committed a minor violation of the Alabama Ethics Act.” The minutes list Bell as a Uniontown councilmember.
The commission voted that her case “be handled administratively and referred for review and appropriate legal action to the District Attorney of the appropriate Judicial Circuit.” The minutes give no conduct, statute section or amount for that finding either.
The commission says on its website that when allegations have merit, a complaint may be referred to the attorney general or “the appropriate District Attorney for presentation to a grand jury for possible prosecution,” or the commission may resolve it administratively with a fine. Administrative resolutions are limited to minor violations.
At the same meeting, the commission voted unanimously “to set aside the penalty and offense” on a civil penalty appeal by Perry County Commissioner Albert F. Turner Jr. under the Fair Campaign Practices Act, the minutes show.
The commission heard 23 such appeals that day. It set aside the penalty and offense in 12 of them, Turner’s included, each on an identical motion, and upheld fines in whole or in part in the other 11.
The minutes do not give the amount of the penalty or what it was for.
The commission met at the RSA Union Building in Montgomery. Its next meeting is Dec. 2.
