By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
Friday’s ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court to deny Rep. Barry Moore’s writ of mandamus sent a bold message to the corrupt elite of State politics, “No you don’t have 9 of 9 Justices in your pocket.” In its unanimous decision the court rejected politics and allowed the criminal justice system to move forward, unhindered by partisan politics.
Speaker Mike Hubbard’s attorney, J. Mark White, took to the pages of al.com to once again try and spin his losing argument that W. Van Davis and Matt Hart were not lawfully endowed with the power to act in the investigation of Hubbard and others criminal activities.
Hubbard’s white collar criminal defense attorney issued a statement saying, “By denying Rep. Moore’s petition without opinion, today’s ruling leaves unanswered, the fundamental constitutional questions Rep. Moore raised. Those questions remain for another day.”
White’s statement that the court left questions unanswered is either delusional or disingenuous or both. The court’s ruling could not have been clearer: They rejected Moore’s argument completely.
White’s stratagem (not Rep. Moore’s attorney Bill Baxley) to have the case dismissed on the grounds that Attorney General Luther Strange did not have the authority to appoint Davis, was a flawed effort, that depended on the court ruling according to political persuasion and not in accordance with State statute. But White, like his client Hubbard, thinks the courts are tools that can be bent to the will of the well-connected crook.
The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Roy Moore, executed justice, while showing judicial restraint in its simple denial of Rep. Moore’s writ. An opinion was not necessary nor warranted.
But from the beginning, White has carried out a plan to spin Hubbard’s innocence. White’s method is to backslap or bully his way around the media and even the courts. This is his standard operating procedure, which fits nicely with his client’s own modus operandi. White is not a trial lawyer, he is a fixer.
The days leading up to the court’s ruling were filled with an abundance of rumors. The most gratuitous was that the fix was in because former Gov. Bob Riley had convinced the court to rule in Rep. Moore’s favor and by extension, quash any pending indictments against Hubbard.
One of the more common rumors wafting like so much dung stench from Goat Hill, was that Davis and Hart had made a deal with Riley and Hubbard to drop the investigation, “for the good the the Republican party.”
Most of the rumors had more to do with the fact that Hubbard was hosting a pricey fundraiser last week than any actual truth about the investigation.
The aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling has generated an atmosphere of jubilation and fear.
The most absurd spin coming from Hubbard loyalists is that Hubbard and Moore were betrayed because White and Baxley are Democrats. The other gem is that the court’s ruling was just the latest in a political battle between warring factions of the Republican party. The fact is that the court did their duty, before the law and the people of this State.
Rep. Moore’s trial is set for September 15, but it is believed that his attorneys will file for a continuance, and that it will most likely be granted.
Even naysayers now believe that Hubbard and others will be indicted, something this publication has predicted all along.
A quote attributed to both Bert Masterson and Earl Wilson states, “Somebody recently figured out that we have 35 million laws to enforce the Ten Commandments.”
It appears the Ten are still present in the court led by Chief Justice Roy Moore.
