Star Chamber Blues

Is Balch & Bingham singing the blues? Are the Smithermans, too? Did they all make an enormous mistake?

Since the end of August, bowing to Balch’s wishes, Judge Carole Smitherman created a Star Chamber without a hearing, without notice to hold secret proceedings in the Burt Newsome Conspiracy Case. She sealed the public court documents going back to the very inception of the case (2015) and at the same time, created an enormous black-eye on the judicial branch in Alabama.

Smitherman, who received over $15,000 from BIZPAC,  a  PAC funded in part by Balch partners, appears to have shown the legal world what campaign contributions can buy in Alabama. Her husband Rodger is an Alabama State Senator who also received generous contributions from BIZPAC.

To add to this , Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., Balch’s lead attorney on the Newsome Conspiracy Case,  donated thousands of dollars to BIZPAC.

Money in; money out. The Star Chamber appears to be a corrupt institution whose only purpose is to protect Balch and the co-conspirators from any public embarrassment.

Even though they foolishly hoped to end the publicity surrounding the case, the Star Chamber has provoked even more awareness, more scrutiny of the Newsome Conspiracy Case,  Balch,  and the shenanigans surrounding the case.

One of our most viral Facebook posts ever is about the Star Chamber, the Burt Newsome Conspiracy Case, and the involvement of U.S. Senator Luther Strange. As of press time, about 50,000 individuals in Alabama have viewed the post, shared the post over 700 times, and posted 300 plus comments.

The Star Chamber proceedings may be secret, but its existence is not.

And that alone is creating even deeper problems for Balch, the alleged co-conspirators in the Newsome case, and the Smithermans.

Just ask U.S. Senator Strange.