“Double Standard” Makes Balch Stooge Look Like a Sheer Hypocrite
In a new filing with the Alabama Supreme Court, the Queen of the secretive and unconstitutional Star Chamber and one of Balch & Bingham’s top stooges, Judge Carole Smitherman comes out looking like a sheer hypocrite.
In March, we outlined how JeffCo and the Alabama Supreme Court were trying to screw over Burt Newsome with demands for the compilation of Smitherman’s court records of the Newsome Conspiracy Case within a week, something Newsome has no control over.
The obligation actually rests on the JeffCo Circuit Court Clerk.
The one-week demand came only hours after we wrote a critical piece about the alleged misconduct by Alabama Supreme Court Justice William B. Sellers, a former Balch & Bingham partner.
We wondered at the time if Smitherman was behind the shenanigans.
Sure enough, a few days later, Smitherman stupidly signed an order granting the clerk a month more to compile the record.
As we wrote at the time, “Now Circuit Court Judge Smitherman is issuing orders in Supreme Court Cases for the benefit of Balch & Bingham. Unbelievable!”
But court transcripts from the Star Chamber dated December 18, 2018 shows Smitherman’s sheer hypocrisy and foreshadowed the stalling, foot-dragging by the JeffCo clerk.
The transcript of Judge Smitherman from December reads:
I don’t see why I have jurisdiction to unseal the record. I’m finished. Summary judgment has been granted. The defendants asking me to hold one issue and that was the Accountability Act. I held that. It’s been orders in that, so I don’t see why I have anymore jurisdiction in this case at all. You can ask the Supreme Court to order Ms. Adams [Circuit Court Clerk], but keep in mind, please, that we are in transition with our clerks office and with two of our courts. We have been down — recently went down to talk to the appellate clerk to appeals is on Ms. Adams’ desk along with several others. Clerk’s office has not refused any of it. Just waiting on Ms. Adams so if you have something done, you just go down and talk to her. See what she’s going to do. I’ve never sought to, you know, tell her what she needs to do, but she’ll get it done. I don’t know what’s going on down there. That’s another world. Just stop down and just tell her. If she has other appeals waiting, Mister newsome, it must be for some reason. She’ll get to it. I’ve never mandamus her to do anything and I’m not going to start right now, so that’s all. Thank you very much [End of proceedings]
But in March Smitherman changed her mind: she indeed had jurisdiction to tell the clerk what to do; and granted the clerk an extra month to compile the court court.
What a stooge!
