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Prosecutorial Misconduct Against Balch Stooges?
Last week, we wrote that we smelled “selective and vindictive” prosecution of indicted Balch stooges Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips. Yesterday, Alabama Political Reporter confirmed discrepancies that appear to confirm allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Bill Britt reported that former Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton had never asked the Alabama Ethics Commission to help him bring the criminal case against Glenn and Phillips. In fact, the truth is the opposite. Britt writes: According to Anderton, in the fall of 2018, Ethics Commission General Counsel Cynthia Propst Raulston approached him because “she had a case she wanted to present to the Jefferson County…
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Ongoing, Uncontrolled Costs
Last March, we outlined a legal fight in Texas in which Balch & Bingham was defending one of the “nation’s dirtiest sources of power” owned by Luminate against the EPA. Although we, the CDLU, are not environmentalists, conservationists, or preservationist, we do believe in common sense and respecting the community, and we offered this resolution: The EPA can immediately resolve the matter by offering to accept necessary permits without any back-penalties while Luminate vows to upgrade the plant to cut pollution by 90 percent in the next year. Our resolution has gone half-way in that the Fifth Circuit declared that…
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Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, Secret Star Chamber, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
Balch Stooges Taste “Selective and Vindictive” Judicial System
Although we believe that the conduct by Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal was reprehensible, we smell “selective and vindictive” prosecution of the Balch stooges. As the attorneys for Trey Glenn wrote in a filing on Monday: By failing to follow the Legislature’s clear directives in the Ethics Act, the [Ethics Commission] Staff acted without legal authority, and no source of legal authority inside or outside of the Act can cure that deficiency. To be sure, the Ethics Act does allow district attorneys and the Attorney General to initiate investigations and prosecutions into alleged violations…
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Balch & Bingham PAC Plummets; Political Liability Rises
The fake smiles at Balch & Bingham cannot cover up the stark reality. Another indicator of how the exodus of money-making partners appears to have impacted Balch & Bingham, Balch’s federal political action committee saw resources plummet by 13 percent during the 2018 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. An employee-supported PAC, partners and attorneys appear to contribute regular, automated amounts each payroll period based an a small percentage of income received. Through the PAC’s Federal Election Commission filings, we learned that Balch-made millionaire and convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert was still on the payroll through 2017.…
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Maynard Cooper Big Winner as Balch & Bingham Loses Millions
Of the 17 of 18 lobbying clients that Balch & Bingham lost in Washington, D.C., four top clients leaped to rival law firm Maynard, Cooper & Gale, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to Quantum Research International, Balch saw a serious exodus of clients. Between 2015 and 2017, Balch made over $3 million in lobbying fees from these ex-clients, averaging $1 million a year. In 2018, Balch’s ex-clients generated almost $2 million in lobbying fees to their new lead lobbying firms. Maynard Cooper took in $820,000 or over 40 percent of the fees. The…
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Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, RICO, Southern Company, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
Balch’s Worst Year Ever
What was Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., a Balch & Bingham senior partner, thinking when he lied about us, the CDLU, in a court pleading in May of 2017 regarding the Newsome Conspiracy Case? Did Schuyler really think his foolish and absent-minded scorched-earth fight would intimidate us? Our phone calls, emails, letters, and outreach efforts to discourage companies from utilizing Balch & Bingham for lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. has been a stunning success. 17 of 18 major clients since 2017 have dumped Balch & Bingham as their lobbyists on Capitol Hill, according to data provided from the Center for Responsive…
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All-White New Partners Shake Legal World
The New York Times ran a story on Sunday about the large law firm Paul, Weiss’ new partner class, writing: The post appeared on LinkedIn in early December: Paul, Weiss, one of the country’s most prominent and profitable law firms, said it was “pleased to announce” its new partner class. In the image, 12 lawyers looked out at the world, grinning. What followed, however, was nothing to smile about. In short order, people across the industry began to comment that all of the faces were white, and only one was a woman’s. Looking at Balch & Bingham’s proud announcement this…
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What are They Hiding?
Balch & Bingham stooge Judge Carole Smitherman has done a great disservice to the legal profession and Alabama Judicial System by refusing to unseal the record of the Newsome Conspiracy Case. The case does not involved a victim who was raped. The case does not involve a juvenile or youth offender. As one of Alabama’s top criminal attorneys who worked for the defense in the North Birmingham Bribery Case told us, Smitherman’s action in sealing the entire record is “extreme.” Since no jury will hear the case, no jury will be tainted. So we ask, what are they hiding? We…
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Bombshell: Smitherman Approves Redacted Attorney Fees Against Newsome; Keeps Case Sealed
The details of the invoices were mostly redacted to a degree that the description of the fees and work done were indeterminable. Some fees billed on the invoices and submitted were not even related to this case. Although the Queen of the Star Chamber Judge Carole Smitherman has ruled against Burt Newsome by approving Balch & Bingham’s summary judgment, she refuses to unseal the court records, even though the case is over in the lower court, according to an appeal filed with the Alabama Supreme Court. When Smitherman originally ruled to create the Star Chamber, the argument was that we,…
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Enormous Pressure Mounts on U.S. Attorney
The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama is under intense pressure to get ahead of the curve and focus more on public corruption. Headed by Jay E. Town, the office has been slammed, and slammed hard in recent weeks, for neglecting public corruption, a chronic problem in the State of Alabama. Heavier public corruption workload coming: Our sources at DOJ say come next month or March expect federal indictments of public corruption against one or more of the corrupt Alabama sheriffs who pocketed surplus prisoner food money. Some of these pocketed funds had been commingled…
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In Memoriam and Balch’s Mop Up
Andrew “Andy2K” Campbell, who saw his boutique law firm Campbell Guin disintegrate and collapse last August, appears to have ended his relationship with former co-owners and settled the matter according to a court dismissal notice filed December 6, 2018. Andy2K, who represents Balch & Bingham in the Newsome Conspiracy Case, donated $2,000 to presiding Judge Carole Smitherman, the queen of the secretive Star Chamber, shortly before appearing as Balch’s new lead counsel. The updated Campbell Guin website shows that former 25% owners Bert M. Guy and Justin G. Williams (pictured above) are no longer at the firm although their back-end…
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Balch’s Misdeeds Will Rock Washington, D.C. in 2019
Stan Blanton, Managing Partner of Balch & Bingham, may have thought the worst was over in 2018. If he did, he is dead wrong. The new leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives is more than interested in the economic racism and environmental injustice that happened in North Birmingham. And so is the national media. A major exposé will be coming out soon on Balch & Bingham; convicted felon and Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert; and Balch stooges Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips. Jeffrey H. Wood, the Balch lobbyist who was named Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment…
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Newsome Appeals Balch’s Summary Judgment
Over $30,000 in campaign cash to Judge Carole Smitherman and her husband State Senator Rodger Smitherman since July of 2017 has paid off handsomely. Apparently kowtowing to Balch & Bingham, Judge Smitherman, as expected, affirmed a summary judgment against Burt Newsome in the Newsome Conspiracy Case currently taking place in a secretive and unconstitutional Star Chamber, according to an appeal filed by Burt Newsome. Last month, the appeal was filed against Judge Smitherman’s bias and retaliatory decision with the Alabama Supreme Court. Reviewing the 44 retaliatory and sloppy orders signed by Smitherman attached to the Writ of Mandamus last June,…
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Black Politico Behind Bars while White Felons are Free
Alabama is said to be a place where African-Americans are routinely treated worse than their white counter-parts. No one dare say the misconduct in North Birmingham was racist even though the neighborhood is 92.5 percent African-American. The bought-and-paid-for African-American politician Oliver Robinson is now behind bars in Oklahoma City and won’t be released until April of 2021. Yet, his two white co-conspirators, convicted felons Dave Roberson and Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert, are out, free, while an appeal is pending. The appeal will take at least a year and will focus on the issue if the “official acts” committed by…
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Year-End Update: Newsome Conspiracy Case
As the secretive and unconstitutional Star Chamber reaches almost 500 days in existence, the proceedings remain in the dark. From the 44 retaliatory orders and transcript filed with the Writ of Mandamus last summer, we are confident that the bias, belligerent politico, Judge Carole Smitherman has most likely continued to stick it to Newsome and his legal team. Would anyone at this juncture expect anything less from a judge and her husband who took in over $30,000 in campaign contributions from Balch-linked entities or PACs? With a civil RICO suit on the horizon, the can of rotten worms will spill wide…
