She was taking an ornithology class with Dr. Bill Alexander, a noted ornithologist and bird photographer, at the time.

“His class opened my eyes to a love of birds and a love of nature, and really began to teach me about the circle of life,” Hodges said, according to official court transcripts.

“And while my love of birds and nature led me to a biology degree in undergraduate school and has continued through my appreciation of nature, my role as a judge is different than my role as a nature lover,” she said in court.

In their filing, Williams’ attorneys Gedney Howe III and Sen. Brad Hutto state that Hodges “erred imposing the sentence.”

This past Monday, the U.S. Attorney General’s Office filed a response stating, in part, “The magistrate did not err – much less plainly err – in failing to recuse herself from handing a case involving wildlife offenses merely because she expressed a personal love of nature and sympathy for the victim wildlife.”

“Moreover, the judge’s sentencing remarks, when viewed in context, made it clear that she understood that her affinity for birds and nature should not improperly influence her decision as a sentencing judge,” Acting U.S. Attorney Beth Drake wrote.