Karl Rove's Alabama

Never thought I would be connected to Karl Rove in any way. But here's how it happened.


The Time article mentioned in my June 6 post noted that Rove and Republican operative William Canary launched a campaign in the mid 1990s that eventually turned Alabama's appellate courts from all-Democrat to all-Republican. In fact, as the Associated Press reported two years ago, Rove built his political reputation on Alabama court races.

By the time I was sued, Alabama's appellate courts were dominated by Republicans. In fact, by the time my case had gone to trial and I was filing an appeal, there was not a single Democrat on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals or the Alabama Supreme Court. Incidentally, all of the judges in Shelby County (where I live) were Republican. County politics have been dominated by Republicans for years, and there is no sign of that changing.

The attorney who filed the lawsuit against me has strong family ties to the Alabama Republican Party. (He also has a long history of ethical problems with the Alabama State Bar and has been tried for perjury in criminal court. Also, his client--my neighbor from hell--has a substantial criminal record. Much more on all of that later.) This attorney's son is a close associate of William Canary and is a fund-raiser/advisor for a number of Alabama Republicans, including Gov. Bob Riley and at least one appellate-court judge.


So the political family tree goes like this: Karl Rove to Bill Canary to attorney who sued me (the attorney with a history of ethical problems and a client with criminal history) to attorney's son (who raises money for, and "advises" leading Alabama Republicans, including the governor).

Through no fault of my own, I got tied in with this crowd. And the lawsuit filed against me set off a chain of unlawful activity by Alabama judges--starting in district court and going to the Alabama Supreme Court.