By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Speaker Mike Hubbard’s criminal defense team is twisting the words of trial Judge Jacob Walker III, to justify asking the court for a continuance.
In the latest motion to delay Hubbard’s trial on 23 felony counts of public corruption, his criminal defense team writes, “In the conference call of July 22, 2015, this Court expressed its concern that this case would not be ready for trial in October. The Court noted that in this case “it will be like summoning jurors for a capital murder case, as far as the numbers that we’re going to need” and that the summons will need to be issued 40 to 45 days before trial.”
A respected Montgomery legal professional speaking on background said that “Twisting Judge Walker’s words is not going to make him happy.” Others predict the motion will be denied, while others see this as a desperate attempt by Hubbard to hang on to power as long as possible.
Hubbard’s court date is set for October 19, almost a year after his indictment. Judge Walker has repeatedly said he wanted to keep to the schedule agreed upon almost a year ago.
The defense team, once again, cites problem reading the 2.4 million pages of electronic documents that were a part of the Grand Jury investigation. Sources with a general knowledge of this type of file say the argument here is just another stalling tactic.
Hubbard’s criminal defense team also states, “Significant legal issues have yet to be resolved by this Court.” The court is scheduled to address those this month, but Hubbard’s lawyers keep pilling on more motions.
Hubbard’s white collar criminal defense attorney, J. Mark White has indicated that he plans to challenge the constitutionality of the ethics laws that his client is accused of breaking, the very laws Hubbard and former Gov. Bob Riley championed in 2010.
