Folo the Law in the Deep South

I've become a fan of a blog called folo. If you are interested in legal and justice issues in the South, especially in Mississippi and Alabama, the blog is well worth a look.

Folo has a distinct Mississippi flavor to it, but it also touches on the Don Siegelman case and the broader Bush Department of Justice scandal, noting the starring role of U.S. Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL).

As we've noted many times here at Legal Schnauzer, the Republican mindset that led to the putrid Siegelman case in Alabama also seems to be present in Mississippi, as evidenced by the Paul Minor case. And one gets the distinct impression that underhanded GOPers in Alabama are quite cozy with their brethren in the Magnolia State.

Let's see, how many connections can we think of? We had Bob Riley evidently receiving Mississippi Choctaw gambling money (via Jack Abramoff) to fund his campaign for governor of Alabama. We had former Riley aide Michael Scanlon, a convicted felon along with Abramoff, working in Mississippi. Another former Riley aide, Dan Gans, has ties to Mississippi. Heck, even our old friend Dax Swatek--Riley's former campaign manager and son of Alabama attorney William E. Swatek (a central "bad guy" in our Legal Schnauzer story)--got his law degree at Mississippi College School of Law.

The folks at folo are serious about their legal issues. In fact, the site might have too much of an "inside baseball" feel for some tastes. The site appears to be written and read mostly by lawyers, or folks with strong legal backgrounds. But don't let that intimidate you. If you dig in, you will find some good stuff.

For example, a recent post examined the issue of flimsy prosecutions, citing the Siegelman case in Alabama.

In another post, the folo folks, shared our dismay over Artur Davis' recent weak comments about the Congressional investigation of the Bush Justice Department. The writer long has admired Davis' ability to get to the heart of matters through the use of crisp, solid questioning. So that made Davis' recent comments to Tommy Stevenson of the Tuscaloosa News particularly baffling.

Regular readers of Legal Schnauzer know that I generally don't hold lawyers in high regard. But I get the feeling that the writers and readers at folo are legal types who genuinely want to see justice done. I think they know the justice system has serious problems, and they would like to see it improved.