Catching Up: Fuhrer Furor; Worley Gigs

Sorry for the absence. You wouldn't believe what I've been up, even if I told you all the gory details.

Catching up ... you probably already know about these things, but I want to chime in.

Der Fuhrer Says

Joe Reed has come under fire for referring to Bradley Byrne as the "Fuhrer". Now, I don't mind a bit of hyperbole in political debate and discourse. However, I do find it obnoxious of Reed to throw this label out.

It seems to me that if Don Imus was wrong to call black girls "nappy headed ho's", then it would be just as wrong for a Reed to say Byrne is Alabama's version of a fascist who committed genocide against millions of people.

Worley vs. Riley

Governor Riley may miss having the voter registration system in 100% compliance by the deadline, but his folks have been much better than Nancy Worley in getting us into compliance.

In the 3 years Worley had to work on the project, she got nowhere.

No contract.

No equipment or software purchases.

No installation.

Riley has the system nearly complete in about a year's time.

UPDATE: Are we to be surprised that the Alabama Democratic Party's blogger has this ridiculous post indicting Beth Chapman for the new system not being up?

Is It Uncommon for Business to Screw Government?

Okay. I know the argument is that privatization is good. A business supposedly can deliver a service or product much more efficiently and effectively than a governmental agency.

 

Does it count against that theory when a business screws up delivering the one governmental program that everyone allegedly hates?

 

Alatax/RDS, a collection service for county and city taxes, screwed the Elmore County Board of Education out of $1.2 million dollars. Instead of delivering the tax receipts to the Board, Alatax gave the money to the City of Prattville and the Elmore County Commission.

 

Now Prattville and Elmore County are trying to work out a way to get the money back to the Elmore County Board of Education.

 

And what will happen to Alatax?  From the article in the Prattville Progress:

Asked if Alatax would be cen­sured or its services terminated for the error, Medders said she was not sure what would hap­pen.

"The law reads that the tax is to be collected by Elmore Coun­ty, so I don't know if we'll take over that duty when the con­tract is up with Alatax or not," she said.

The Cottonmouth Strikes

Gita over at Cottonmouth Press has this take on Trey Granger's 32-hour work day.

Necessity (or Desire!) is the Mother of Invention

Some inmates cooked up this scheme for getting out of jail. Copyright their names, then demand large sums of money from prison officials who used their names.  When the prison officials don't pay, file liens against the property of the prison Warden and have the property siezed. Refuse to release the property until the officials let them out of prison.

 

From the article:

The four men and William Michael Roberson, 50, of Baton Rouge, La., were indicted on accusations of conspiring to impede the duties of federal prison officials, Richter said. Roberson is accused of assisting the four inmates in the scheme, which allegedly took place in late 2003 and early 2004.

All five were also indicted on charges of mailing threatening communications with the intent to extort.

Maybe this a strategy that should be presented to those concerned about being in jail for marijuana use or possession?

 

In fact, why don't we copyright our names and prohibit their use on any government document we don't like, like tax notices or arrest warrants?

 

Give those guys some credit for ingenuity, although they can't be too smart since they got caught for the crime that got them in jail in the first place - and it looks like they may get some additional time for this.

Staredown Smackdown

Read here, courtesy of the Toledo Blade.

Working Worley's Legacy

During her re-election campaign, Nancy Worley identified herself as "Working Worley" and claimed she worked until all hours of the night doing the public's business.  It now looks like one of her attorneys was taking lessons.  The Mobile Press-Register reports today that Trey Granger, a one-time legal counsel to Worley , was paid for working 32 hours in one day. Documents also show he supposedly worked 24 hours on another day and 22 hours each on nine other days.

 

Ken Wallis, the Governor's legal adviser, says the Governor's office is responsible for the "errors" on the invoice.  They just wanted to get Granger paid for hours he worked.

 

Read the article. I'm still not sure why there is not a straight forward accounting of the hours worked or why the Governor's office went through the gyrations to create invoices that would make it look like Granger worked 91% of some days and even 133% of another day.

Nursing Home Voter Fraud

The Mobile Press-Register reports this morning that a former candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives have been arrested for alleged voter fraud:

Darren Lee Flott, a one-time candidate for Alabama House District 98, and Angie Corine Green, an activities director for a nursing home, were both arrested and charged with voter fraud Thursday, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. announced.

The pair exploited a host of nursing-home patients, Tyson alleged in a news conference held in his offices at Mobile Government Plaza.

Those taken advantage of were elderly and infirm men and women, who, at the time the ballots were cast in their names, were either "comatose" or "otherwise unable to communicate" their voting preferences, Tyson said.

Allegations such as these are not new in Alabama. However, it's not often that charges get filed and suspects get prosecuted.

 

If you have any tales of this kind of voter fraud or other abuses you've seen at nursing homes, please share in the comments or by e-mailing me. E-mails will be kept confidential unless you agree otherwise.

Jury Should Hear Worley's Felony Charges

After reading about the Attorney General's reasons for filing the felony charges against Nancy Worley, I have changed my previous opinion. I now think that jury should get the opportunity to hear the evidence on those charges and render a verdict.

The statute in question is 17-1-7(c), which says:

(b) No person shall attempt to use his or her official authority or position for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of any person. Any person who violates this subsection (b) shall be guilty of a felony and punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a period not to exceed two years, or both.
 

Judge Truman Hobbs indicated that this section was being applied only to Worley's solicitation that included not only a request for money but also asked employees to place a bumper sticker on their car or a campaign sign in their yard.  Without any further information, I agreed with Hobbs. These activities are standard for campaigns and do not generally reflect a misuse of public office, although the request for money apparently violates a separate statute that prevents state employees from being solicited for campaign contributions by supervisors.

The Attorney General's filing though shows more is at play than just the letter that Worley sent employees.  According to WSFA, the Attorney General's filing include this:
 

"The State also expects to introduce evidence that the mailing did in fact include the referenced bumper sticker as well as a donation envelope.  Further, the State expects to present evidence that Defendant Worley obtained the home addresses of some of the respective employees by virtue of her position as the chief executive in the Office of Secretary of State.  Additionally, the State expects witnesses to testify that Worley, in her capacity of Secretary of State told employees that she could find out if they voted and for whom they voted."
 

If Worley utilized the employees' personnel files to get their addresses for her mailing, that would appear to be use of her official position to further her candidacy. 

Similarly, if Worley told her employees that by virtue of her position as Secretary of State she could determine how they voted and used that as a tool of intimidation, that would appear to be use of her official position to further her candidacy.

Now, maybe Worley didn't do either of these things. Maybe the employees are lying or misunderstood something Worley said. Maybe Worley didn't get the addresses out of the personnel files. Those, however, seem to be questions of fact for the jury to decide.

Without further information, it doesn't appear to me that the statute is overly-broad, in theory or in the way it is being applied here.

Worley Trial Delayed Again

WSFA reports that Judge Truman Hobbs has thrown out the felony charges against Worley. So, the Attorney General's office has asked for, and been granted, a delay in the trial starting while it appeals the judge's action.

Update 5: Worley's Trial

Helen Hammonds of WSFA has this report on the Attorney General's response to Judge Truman Hobbs' concerns about the felony charges against Worley.

 

Worley's trial is set to being this afternoon. More news and analysis as the day goes by.

Breaking News: Siegelman

WSFA reports that Don Siegelman is being moved to a permanent in the federal prison system.

 

No word on what's happening to his cell mate and buddy Richard Scrushy.

Update 5: Worley's Trial

WSFA is reporting that Worley's trial is set to start Wednesday at 1:00pm.

Update: The Montgomery Advertiser op-ed page carried an editorial today arguing that no charges, including the felony charges, should be dropped, that she should be tried by a jury and let the chips fall where they may.

Just a thought

Nancy Worley and her attorneys are making a big deal of their argument that Ed Packard was politically motivated in filing the complaint that led to felony and misdemeanor charges being filed against her.  Putting the dots together, they are apparently trying to make the case that since Packard ran against Worley in last year's primary election, he was merely seeking an advantage in the election. If my memory serves me well, I remember Worley saying that Packard was just looking for free press.

 

Let's look at this from another angle. Maybe Worley decided to send the fundraising letter to employees because she figured if Packard said anything, she could label him as a political opportunist. (If other employees said anything, she could say they were just disgruntled and trying to stir up trouble for her. Look for this argument in the trial too.)

 

Many think Worley is dumb given the way she ran the Secretary of State's office. However, I don't think she was dumb at all. I think she was conniving and crafty and I have no doubt she schemed in many ways to see out what she could get away with. And for the most part, she got away with quite a lot.

 

But I think she miscalculated on this one.

Update 4: Worley's Trial

WSFA, Montgomery's NBC affiliate, has this coverage of yesterday's hearing in the Worley trial. The reporter has written the coverage like a blog entry, as if she had been live-blogging the event.

 

Also, if you haven't seen it yourself, a PDF copy of the complaint that Ed Packard filed with the Attorney General - that got this case started - is available here. (Hat tip to Dan at Between the Links.)

Child Molester Walks

The AP reports that a Huntsville man, after pleading guilty to sex crimes against his adopted sons, will serve no time in jail, despite the plea agreement include 15 years jail time for each of three first-degree sodomy charges. The abused children are now 13, 14 and 16.  According to the news report, the judge, Karen Hall, was following the prosecutor's recommendation:

Circuit Judge Karen Hall sentenced Jerry Wayne Love, 51, to 15 years on each of three first-degree sodomy charges Monday. But she followed the prosecutors' recommendation, ordering Love to spend five years on probation and undergo treatment in a sex offender program.

Assistant District Attorney Allison Palmer said the prosecution made a recommendation of 5 years probation on each count and treatment in a sex offender program for Jerry Wayne Love , the defendent. She claims they wanted to protect the children from having to testify in court against Love.

 

I know that plea bargains can be offered for a variety of reasons. For example, if the prosecutor thinks he has a weak case, he might accept a guilty plea to a lesser charge. Or, as in this case, there may be an interest in not taking the case to trial, such as the protection of children. But do any of these reasons mean the prosecutor or judge should give a sex offender a "get out of jail free" card?

 

I can't imagine why the prosecution came up with this plea agreement.  They should be protecting the public interest, not capitulating. But I'm even more disgusted with the judge, if the news article correctly represents the situation.  Note that the article says the judge accepted the prosecutors' "recommendation". It doesn't appear that defendent demanded no jail time in order to plea guilty.

 

The article states that Love could have been given as much as a life sentence if he been found guilty at trial. I don't know all the facts and circumstances of the trial, but I do know that discounting a life sentence down to essentially no sentence is not a shining example of justice.

 

I hope the people who are upset about Scooter Libby let Judge Hall know what they think of her brand of justice at the next election.

 

[Note: Loretta Nall is more vocal than me (read her comments here), although I'm just as mad as she is.]

Update 3: Worley's Trial

The trial of Nancy Worley has been postponed until at least Wednesday or Thursday, according to today's Birmingham News. A postponement is not really a surprise, since the trial was set to start last month and was postponed until July 9. Plus, Worley has a history of putting things off and trying to get things postponed.

The real news - or at least the "new" news - was that the judge in the case, Truman Hobbs, has said he has concerns about trying Worley on the felony counts, saying the underlying statute used for the charges is "vague" and "overbroad". Hobbs said:

"I'm real worried that this statute ... potentially criminalizes a lot of everyday conduct that happens all over the country."

I read over the statute and I have to agree with Hobbs. Interestingly, if you've seen Ed Packard's complaint that set all this in motion, he never mentioned the statute that Hobbs has concerns about. Packard referred to another section that Hobbs did not have problems with.

The misdemeanor charges stem from a section of state law that says a state officer or employee may not solicit a campaign contribution "from other employees who work for the state officer or employee in a subordinate capacity." A violation is punishable by a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. Hobbs said he had no problem with Worley being prosecuted under that part of the law.

Take note that the national political environment seems to be bleeding into this case. From the Montgomery Advertiser:

During Monday's hearing, Worley's attorney, James Anderson, told the judge he wanted to be able to talk about political motivation for the prosecution during the trial.

"The complaint was made by Ed Packard, a political opponent. We have every right to question Mr. Packard about political motivation," Anderson said.

Hobbs said he would not stop defense attorneys from questioning Packard's political motivation, but did not want them implying that the prosecution by the Alabama Attorney General's office is politically motivated.

(About the photo: The photo shows Nancy Worley with her campaign manager and boyfriend, Wade Lipscomb. From the Montgomery Advertiser.)

Update 2: Worley Trial

WBRC in Birmingham, carrying one AP story, finally has information on their web site about the Worley trial being delayed. You can read it here. The AP has another, separate story here.  The trial is expected to begin Wednesday, according to WBRC.

 

The AP says Truman Hobbs, the judge presiding over the case, has expressed doubt that Worley's behavior supports charges for the felony counts against her. It will be interesting to see if those charges get thrown out, or if all the charges get thrown out. Or if the case procedes with all charges intact.

 

In the WBRC story, James Anderson, Worley's attorney, is reported to have said this:

Defense attorney James Anderson said the attorney general's office has a weak case.

"They are pushing it. The only thing that mentioned money was the envelope that was enclosed," he said.

Chris Bence, spokesman for Attorney General Troy King, said Worley's letters to her employees "are pretty powerful" evidence and a Montgomery County grand jury agreed when it indicted her.

"Had Ms. Worley not sent the letters, she would not be where she is today," he said.

So, Worley's attorney admits Worley sent the letter and the envelope and that if she hadn't sent the letter in the first place, she wouldn't be indicted. Isn't that pretty close, if not right on the money, a guilty plea?

 

Update: Worley's Trial

I'm waiting for confirmation, but it appears that the trial of Nancy Worley has been postponed "indefinitely" until Wednesday according to my source WBRC Fox 6 in Birmingham.

 

More to come.

 

Update: The newsroom at WBRC confirmed the reports of the postponement for me.

Sigelman and Libby

And so the Siegelman defense teams has directly commented on how their client should benefit from  Bush's commutation of  Scooter Libby's prison sentence:

Susan James, one of Siegelman's attorneys, put the prosecution demands in contest. She said the government should be embarrassed to ask for additional time under any scenario, "particularly in light of the president's commutation of the Libby sentence."

Thanks to the Tuscaloosa News.

Prison IDs of the Week

The Tuscaloosa News' Dana Beyerle shares with us last week's "Prison IDs of the Week":

Don Siegelman, 24775-001; Richard Scrushy, 24463-01.