Limestone County District Judge Douglas Patterson is under investigation, a state court official confirmed Thursday, but the nature of the investigation is not known.

A spokesman with the Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts would only confirm the existence of an active investigation and that the investigation was not being conducted by the AAOC.

A spokesman with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office on Thursday said the office could neither confirm or deny any active investigations in Limestone County.

Prior to announcing his candidacy for Limestone County District Judge, Place 1, Patterson was a practicing attorney in Athens. He was appointed District Judge by former Gov. Robert Bentley in 2016 after the retirement of District Judge Jeanne Anderson. Patterson faced no opposition in the Republican primary and no Democratic opposition in the November general election.

He is a graduate from Athens State University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.