By David Thomas

June 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Alabama said he will ask federal prosecutors to investigate human rights lawyer Terry Collingsworth, who a federal jury found civilly liable for racketeering and defamation earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge David Proctor said he was referring Collingsworth's case to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama "to investigate whether Collingsworth has engaged in any criminal conduct," as well as other state bars and courts where Collingsworth practices for potential disciplinary proceedings. Proctor also ordered Collingsworth to pay Birmingham, Alabama-based coal producer Drummond's legal fees and stripped the Washington lawyer of his ability to practice in his Alabama federal court.

Collingsworth, in an email, said he would appeal Proctor's "extreme and vindictive sanctions order," calling it "another example of the court’s bias against and hostility towards me." Collingsworth said he would also appeal the jury verdict.

Trey Wells, an attorney at Starnes Davis Florie who is representing Drummond, said in a statement that Proctor's sanction ruling was a "just result."

Collingsworth and his firm, IRAdvocates, were found liable for racketeering and defamation by a federal jury in January over allegations that he filed fraudulent lawsuits and formulated a scheme to pay witnesses to deliver false testimony linking Drummond to a violent Colombian paramilitary group. Proctor said the jury found Collingsworth "engaged in" witness bribery, money laundering, wire fraud and extortion.

"To be clear, the jury’s RICO verdict certainly supports a finding that Collingsworth’s conduct warrants sanctions," Proctor wrote in his 45-page ruling.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Collingsworth initially brought a landmark Alien Tort Statute case in federal court in Alabama in 2002, alleging Drummond was liable for the 2001 murders of three union leaders at one of its Colombian mines. A federal jury sided with the company in 2007, and Drummond first brought a defamation claim against Collingsworth in 2011. Drummond sued Collingsworth for racketeering in 2015.

Proctor said Collingsworth's "bad-faith conduct" in the litigation was "extensive," finding that he "lied directly to the court" as Drummond investigated his payments to witnesses.

Collingsworth and his firm owe $256 million in damages to Drummond minus an unspecified amount due to a confidential settlement that was reached with other defendants.

Following the January jury verdict, Collingsworth argued Drummond failed to present adequate evidence of racketeering and failed to prove he acted with ​actual malice, a key requirement for some defamation claims. He also argued that Proctor made numerous mistakes over the course of the long-running litigation and during the five-week trial, and that Proctor should have recused himself because he was biased against him. Proctor denied Collingsworth's post-trial motions earlier this month.