Winners:

1. GASP: Three weeks in a row! The small, tiny public charity has shaken the pillars of industry. Testimony again showed GASP was targeted by a web of Balch agents.
2. The FBI: The agent who testified solidly connected with the jury, many who are women. Not bad in this “me too” era.
3. Junior Attorneys at Balch & Bingham: The testimony by three former and current Balch attorneys was damning, and also confirms there are still good, honest, and professional attorneys at Balch that have a conscience.

Losers:

1. Joel Gilbert: Another problematic week showing him as the alleged head honcho of the scheme, although McKinney was mentioned as the conduit to Matrix, a consulting firm that dispersed letters in North Birmingham.
2. AEMC and ADEM: They sold their responsibility and servitude to the public to benefit Balch’s alleged bribery scheme. Their respective leaders, Brown and LeFleur, melted on the stand.
3.  Ex-Governor Bentley: When he wasn’t making lustful phone calls in the night, he was signing Balch’s ghost-written letters.
4. Ex-AG Luther Strange: The ultimate stooge for Balch also signed a ghost-written letter and left the Balch tracking code on it.
5. Defense Attorneys: All three fussed about the FBI agent’s summary of bills broken down in a rainbow of colors. They looked petty and acted as if they wanted to simply complicate or confuse things for the jurors.