Lisa Traylor-Wolff, 52, is accused of having a "physically intimate relationship with a 26-year-old client" at the Miami Correctional Facility in Peru, Ind.
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications claims Traylor-Wolff, who is also a defense lawyer, began the affair before her lover was jailed. The Indianapolis Star says the relationship then continued and that she represented him as he appealed his conviction.
The commission has filed three disciplinary charges against Traylor-Wolff.
She has 20 days to respond to them, before the case goes to the Indiana Supreme Court. Traylor-Wolff is formally accused of violating four rules of professional conduct, including having sex with a client and undermining the integrity of the position of judge.
If found guilty, she could be banned for life from holding judicial office in the state.
Traylor-Wolff, who has not commented on the claims, formerly served as a Superior Court judge in Pulaski County and was the head of her county's Bar Association.
She graduated from Valparaiso University law school in 1986.
