The former judge of Alabama’s criminal courts used judicial bank accounts to fund personal holidays, including a ski trip to Montana and a cycling trip across Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Self also wrote cheques to himself, including for conferences he didn’t actually attend.

He spent judicial funds on personal expenses including glasses, a sofa, a frame for his son’s college degree, and alcohol for a weekend trip.

He was sentenced this week to 51-and-a-half years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of 15 counts of abuse of public office, one count of lying to a spending watchdog, and one count of perjury in the first degree.

Self is required to serve 12 years of the sentence in prison and must also pay a fine of $5,000 (around €4,250 or £3,700).

Alabama’s attorney general, Steve Marshall, said: “Public office is a public trust, and no one is entitled to steal from the public, especially those sworn to uphold the law.

“This sentence sends a clear message that corruption will be investigated, prosecuted, and punished in Alabama, no matter the title or position of the offender, and that our office will aggressively enforce the state’s public corruption laws to hold officials accountable when they betray that trust.”