Alabama

Lawyer resurrects his ‘burn the courthouse down’ closing, wins acquittal

Court watchers in Mobile, Alabama, had heard it before. During closing arguments in the federal corruption trial of two Mobile County officials, defense lawyer Dennis Knizley told jurors they shouldn’t trust the prosecution’s star witness, software developer Victor Crawford, Al.com reports. “If they ask you to convict a wonderful, sweet…

Jun 8, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Federal judge resigns nearly a year after his arrest

Corrected: U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Alabama has announced he will resign effective Aug. 1, nearly a year after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his then-wife at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. Fuller announced the resignation on Friday, report the Montgomery Advertiser, Al.com, the Daily Report (sub. req.) and…

Jun 1, 2015 8:39 AM CDT

Woman gets life without parole for running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death

Following the recommendation of the Alabama jury that convicted a woman of capital murder earlier this year for running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death, a judge on Monday sentenced Joyce Hardin Garrard to life without parole. The 50-year-old woman in the Etowah County case, told the judge at one point,…

May 11, 2015 5:15 PM CDT

Woman shoots husband who entered home in violation of protective order and is herself shot by police

An Alabama woman got a protective order and tried repeatedly to have her estranged husband arrested after he allegedly continued to threaten her. At one point, he texted her a cryptic message: “U thank UR safe UR not.” On Sunday, Bradley Skinner broke into the home his wife shares with…

Apr 21, 2015 10:00 AM CDT

Jury recommends life sentence for woman convicted in granddaughter’s running death

A jury has recommended a life sentence without parole for an Alabama woman convicted of capital murder in her granddaughter’s running death. The jury, by a vote of 7-5, rejected prosecutors’ request for a death sentence for Joyce Hardin Garrard in the February 2012 death of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin, the…

Mar 27, 2015 2:21 PM CDT

Jury convicts grandma in child’s running death; will consider death penalty

An Alabama woman accused of causing her granddaughter’s death by forcing her to run for hours was convicted of capital murder on Friday. Jurors who convicted Joyce Hardin Garrard on Friday return to court in Etowah County on Monday to consider whether to recommend the death penalty, report the Associated…

Mar 23, 2015 9:11 AM CDT

ACLU asks judge to block Alabama law authorizing appointment of lawyers for fetuses

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge on Wednesday to block an Alabama law authorizing judges to appoint a lawyer for the fetus when minors ask a judge for permission to have an abortion. The ACLU suit, filed on behalf of Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery, contends the…

Mar 19, 2015 11:32 AM CDT

Alabama probate judge cites differing decisions on gay marriage, opposes federal class-action bid

An Alabama probate judge faces differing court decisions after a federal judge on Monday refused to stay a February order requiring him to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples who challenged the state’s ban on gay marriage. U.S. District Judge Callie Granade said in her Monday order (PDF) that Judge…

Mar 18, 2015 8:08 AM CDT

Former state chief justice is ashamed of the fundraising process

The former chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court, Sue Bell Cobb, set a goal during the 2006 election to the state’s high court. Raise $2.6 million and win. Cobb won her seat after accepting hundreds of contributions from lawyers and lobbyists for a total of close to $2 million. In…

Mar 6, 2015 2:59 PM CST

Alabamans ready yet another effort to reform the state’s supersized constitution

With 890 amendments, Alabama has, by most accounts, the world’s longest constitution. But that isn’t necessarily a source of state pride. The length comes from a requirement that local governments get a constitutional amendment passed through the state legislature and then approved by the people for basic governance.

Mar 1, 2015 6:21 AM CST

Woman who lost $500K calls ex-lawyer’s 5-year sentence for stealing $10M ‘a joke’

A former Alabama attorney was sentenced Friday to a so-called “split” 20-year sentence for stealing some $10 million in client funds. That means Frederick Mitchell “Mitch” McNab, 53, will only have to actually spend five years in prison, assuming he complies with the probation that will follow the five-year prison…

Feb 20, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Group seeks Alabama Justice Roy Moore’s phone and email records

The Human Rights Campaign has filed an open records request in a bid to obtain phone and email records of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who had ordered probate judges in his state not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. The HRC says it wants to learn whether Moore…

Feb 20, 2015 10:13 AM CST

Federal court orders Ala. judge to issue same-sex marriage licenses; new suit seeks opposite result

The battle over gay marriage in Alabama continued on Thursday as a federal judge ordered a state probate judge to issue marriage licenses, and a religious nonprofit filed a mandamus petition seeking the opposite result. The judge who overturned Alabama’s gay marriage ban, U.S. District Judge Callie Granade, agreed to…

Feb 13, 2015 7:27 AM CST

Alabama top court tosses probate judge’s petition seeking guidance on gay marriage

Updated: The Alabama Supreme Court has tossed a suit by a Mobile County probate judge seeking guidance on the authority of the state’s chief justice to order probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. The court said the Feb. 9 petition filed by Probate Judge Don Davis…

Feb 12, 2015 10:21 AM CST

Minister arrested after trying to perform same-sex marriage at probate judge’s office

An Alabama probate judge called police Tuesday after a minister tried to marry a same-sex couple at his office and refused his request to leave. Anne Susan Diprizio, 44, an ordained minister, later posted $1,000 bond in her disorderly conduct case. Diprizio told the Montgomery Advertiser she intends to return…

Feb 11, 2015 10:00 AM CST