Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Tuscaloosa lawyer John Fisher Jr., arrested on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, had gone on Facebook to trash people who use illegal drugs


John Fisher Jr.
(From nydailynews.com)
The Alabama lawyer who was arrested Friday for methamphetamine trafficking had used Facebook to rant against those who use illegal drugs.

That is one of the nuggets we learned yesterday as the story of Tuscaloosa attorney John Fisher Jr. made national, even international, headlines -- including commentary from one of America's best-known legal analysts.

The New York Daily News portrayed Fisher, who was arrested with Christopher Shane Rushing, as a colossal right-wing hypocrite. The Daily News focused on comments Fisher had made at the Facebook page for his radio show. Writes reporter Alfred Ng:

Fisher has publicly spoken out against illegal drug use in the past on his radio show’s page.

In one post defending gun owners, he called himself a “law abiding citizen” and criticized the government for not spending more resources on taking drugs off the streets.

“Illegal drug use is a MUCH more expensive drain on society in terms of healthcare and work issues,” he wrote in his rant.

Fisher is a "law abiding" guy -- at least if you don't count meth trafficking? Geez, this guy takes conservative hypocrisy to galactic levels. And like many conservatives, he doesn't seem to show the slightest concern for the misfortunes of others -- in fact, he mocks them. Fisher went out of his way to knock an Alabama family that had wrestled with substance abuse. Writes Ng:

In 2013, he also called out Alabama’s then-secretary of law enforcement Spencer Collier after his son Christopher Collier was arrested for selling Oxycodone pills.

The UK Daily Mail took the Fisher story to international levels. Reporter Ariel Zilbert shines light on Fisher and Rushing's behavior:

The two men were alleged to have been in possession of 'one-pot' meth labs.

One-pot labs are methods by which individuals can manufacture the drug with chemicals and a plastic bottle, thereby making it harder for authorities to track down offenders who eschew the large, traditional drug laboratories.

The men apparently were well versed in techniques for avoiding the attention of authorities. Sounds like somebody was a veteran at this game. But Zilbert describes how they came to draw attention anyway:

Law enforcement officials zeroed in on the suspects after receiving a tip indicating that Rushing was dropping off a backpack containing drug-making paraphernalia at an unspecified location.

According to The Tuscaloosa News, Fisher took the backpack and drove it back to his office nearby. The West Alabama Narcotics Task Force followed Fisher to his office. Soon after, Rushing was seen walking into the location and then walked out with the backpack. That was when authorities arrested both men.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley -- the veteran of numerous appearances on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and other public-affairs TV programs -- addressed the Fisher case on his blog. The piece included a photo of Fisher, under a headline reading "Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?" In other words, Fisher doesn't look much like the guy you would expect to be charged with meth trafficking. Writes Turley:

The police followed a tip and tracked what they believed as a backpack containing items believed to be components of a methamphetamine lab to an unreleased location. The backpack was then picked up by a second man. That man then went to an office located in the 1600 block of Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa. Fisher’s law office is located at 1609 Greensboro Avenue. They then saw the first man arrive at the office and walk out with the same backpack. They arrested both Fisher and Rushing. Later they found what police described as an active “one-pot” meth lab in one of their cars.

Turley then looked at the case with the eye of a big-time lawyer, the kind we rarely write about here:

We have not heard Fisher’s side of this arrest. Fisher may claim that Rushing is a client and that this was evidence, but it is not clear whose car contained the meth pot. Moreover, absent an effort to turn over evidence to police or prosecutors, the holding of criminal components is not something that is likely to convince a court. Conversely, it may be argued that he was working with Rushing to shutdown his operation. However, again, the possession of such material is problematic for a lawyer. As a conservative radio host, Fisher promised “Plain Talk, Easily Understood with NO Political Correctness.” This may be his greatest challenge yet.

Perhaps Fisher will need an attitude adjustment to work his way out of this mess. Some people likely have worked up a certain level of sympathy for Fisher, but I'm having a hard time doing that. To me, he comes across as a world-class, right-wing hypocrite and . . . well, an a-hole. Consider his own words from Facebook:


America has become a country of people who believe as a whole that no one has any personal responsibility for their reckless, careless, ignorant, callous, incorrect choices in life. You will never legislate personal responsibility into anyone. This must be instilled in each person through family, and societal values and education. Unfortunately America has moved away from instilling such values in our citizens and now favor a blame someone or something else mentality.

Will Fisher take "personal responsibility" for his actions or will he look to blame someone or something else? That might be the biggest question at the heart of a case that raises many questions.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

This guy is a poor man's Rush Limbaugh, playing to the racists in T-town.

Robby Scott Hill said...

I'd like to see all of the Rush style neoconservative media talking heads & the politicians they elect fall hard. The American People have been and are being lied to. RFK was shot twice from the back. Sirhan was in front. Sirhan was not an Arab Terrorist. He was a Christian born to the native people of Jerusalem, the Palestinian Catholics. As an Irishman whose ancestors fled to America to escape the Protestant oppressors, I'm really getting tired of these Protestant neocons & their Khazar partners trying to control our minds. Our Irish Catholic President & Attorney General were murdered by the conspirators & we need to start taking our country back. We have a good, Liberal Pope behind us now & the numbers say Catholics have determined the outcome of every Presidential election since 1960. Bill Clinton is Irish. He & Hillary played a huge role in the peace process. What ancestry is Obama's White half? Guess what motherfuckers? The O'man is a bona fide Irishman & he recognizes that our two peoples, the Irish & the Palestinians share one struggle against the Protestants & the Khazars. Freedom for Palestine is Freedom for Northern Ireland & Freedom for Americans who don't have pay taxes to support & die in immoral wars that only enrich the neoconservative Protestants & Jews.

Anonymous said...

Ah, so the one-pot meth method is a way to avoid detection. As Johnny Carson would say, "I did not know that."

Anonymous said...

I believe Mr. Fisher's personal Facebook page has been removed? Perhaps that suggests he was none to pleased with your listing of GOP luminaries on his friends' list.

Anonymous said...

Pot is one thing...cocaine - while not for me- was once used in Coca Cola for goodness sake, but Meth? Meth ruins lives, families, and careers. The crap that's in there? Kitty litter for gods sake? Who comes up with this stuff?

Anonymous said...

ha ha @12:06 i noticed that too...maybe certain political folks called him and said what the heck? Shut your page down!

legalschnauzer said...

Good point, @12:06. Have you seen photos of what meth can do to teeth? I met a guy at Shelby County Jail who was around 35, and he already had dentures because his teeth had rotted from meth use. Nice, funny guy -- one of my favorites from my five months there -- but he had not been able to kick the meth habit, and it ruined his teeth. Hope he beats it.

Phyl-o-soph-ical said...

Conservatives think personal responsibility is a fine thing for others to practice. Its not so great when applied to them. I look for Fisher to do anything possible to get out of this.

Anonymous said...

Jonathan Turley is a smart guy. His analysis raises some key points that might come up as this case moves down the road.

Anonymous said...

That crap Fisher said about Spencer Collier's son is despicable. Fisher is one SOB who is going to reap what he sows.

Robby Scott Hill said...

I don't understand how drug users get & keep their license to practice. In 2005, before Keith Norman asked me to withdraw my bar application, he asked me if I had used drugs & at the time I hadn't. A few years afterwards, I started smoking pot to treat my medical conditions. When I was a recruit at Marine Corps Boot Camp in 1993, I remember going through the "moment of truth." However it was not a moment it was an eternity. I took them at their word that they wanted the truth & the truth was I hadn't done drugs, but this big Master Sergeant kept trying to get me to confess to drug. I was there for hours & had pissed & shit all over myself because he wouldn't let me go to the bathroom & insisted that I keep drinking water. He just kept screaming at me & calling me goddamned liar & threatening me with prison time & I finally flipped out & started screaming at him. Then, some officer came & escorted me out of the office. I had to go through all that shit & then I find out they're letting people with drug convictions & histories of abuse practice law.

Robby Scott Hill said...

Meth is bad, but I'm going to keep smoking my marijuana. I watched my grandmother & mother die slow, horrible deaths from cancer & what appeared to be cancer, respectively. I watched my father in pain from heart & kidney disease. No, fuck that. Robby Hill isn't going out like that. I'm going to smoke Weed when I can.

legalschnauzer said...

One of the all-time great stories about the realities of Marine life, Rob. Wish I had the talent and support to make a movie about your life. You could be a high, non-retarded "Forrest Gump" for the millenials.

Robby Scott Hill said...

Thanks Roger. The only truth at the "Moment of Truth" at Parris Island & the Alabama State Bar's Character & Fitness hearings is that they can give a pass to whoever they want to. It's just a way to get rid of the people they don't like. George W. Bush got a DUI & skipped his medical physical with the Air National Guard. Bush became Commander in Chief. If you have an "in" with the right people, you're going to get a pass, but if you're some Negro or Poor White who doesn't know anybody & is taking away an opportunity for a rich, White you're going to be fucked. I like what fellow Marine James Carville said about the Republican attacks on the Clinton Foundation. "It's an organization that takes money from rich people & gives it to poor people." "Somebody (Republican) is going to Hell over this." I think some people are going to Hell over what they've done to us. I'd really be surprised if Keith Norman, Tony McClain, Roy Moore, Robert Bentley, Chris Curry & some others wind up in heaven. They're going to have to get a lot of forgiveness between now & their dying day to not have to go to Hell over this.

Robby Scott Hill said...

At least the Alabama State Bar didn't ask me if I was gay. I thought the Marine Corps was the only organization that was concerned with your sexual orientation, but I found out that was wrong too. After even the Marine Corps decided to stop asking people if they were gay, my former District Manager at H&R Block, John David Stamey asked me if I was gay & he removed all the gay employees from my office because he thought I was showing them favoritsm. Even with a Black President, we still live in a very prejudiced society. I don't understand how we as a society keep tolerating these sorts of behaviors from our so-called "Christian" leaders.

Robby Scott Hill said...

It's absolutely sick. So-called Christians like Bentley who claim the moral high ground have denied Medicaid to 300,000 Alabamians, but governments & companies somehow pay politicians & managers good money to hold an inquisition about who is gay. It seems like everywhere you turn around in this world, there is Drill Instructor, District Manager or a politician wanting to know where your penis has been. Meanwhile, people are dying from very curable diseases. There must be some way to put a miniature camera on your penis & live stream it to your company's HR department sort of like what they're doing with the body cameras on police officers. Companies have rewards for employees who come up with ideas to save the company money. I think a live feed from my penis would have saved the Marine Corps & H&R Block all kinds of time & money because the managers & the Sergeants were all obsessed with where my penis had been. Yep, the penis live stream is definitely the answer to growing revenues & increasing kill counts.

Anonymous said...

Meth bust details released
Court records say bail bondsman called police

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20160823/NEWS/160829882/1007?Title=Meth-bust-details-released

"Agents went to speak with Fisher, who met them at the back door of the law office with a pistol in his hand. "

Anonymous said...

Why the heck would anyone leave a backpack with drugs at the office of a bail bondsman? Doesn't seem like something that a dealer (or user) would forget?

Why would the bail bondsman call the police first and THEN call Fisher? maybe they had some idea that he was involved and wanted to see what he would do?

The backpack trail is hard to follow. Each article describes the backpack exchanges in a different way - it seems to me anyway.

Robby Scott Hill said...

Our schools, our licensing agencies & our places of employment have degenerated into a sad state of affairs where people are not focused on encouraging each other to succeed, but they instead waste so much time discussing their personal love lives, divorces, and mostly seem to be focused on what's between your your legs, who you're using it on & getting you out of the way if you don't fit into their preconceived notions of what your place in the world is. It's why we have the largest prison population in the world. The highest unemployment rates in the industrialized world & so many other problems. At the root of it all, seems to be Roy Moore & Robert Bentley's "Republican Jesus." The Jesus I read about in the Bible paid the guy who came to the field last just as much as the guy who had worked all day. I call that Jesus "Activist Jesus." Republicans always ask me if I know Jesus & I say, I know all about Republican Jesus & the guy is a real dick. You need to get to know "Activist Jesus." He's that Socialist guy in that Bible they don't read at your church. You might like Him if you'd take the time to read about Him.

Robby Scott Hill said...

It's strange, but for 26 years my relationship with most of my employers has come down to just two one way discussions: 1) Why are you gay & where has your penis been? (I'm not & it's been in some women) & 2) When was the last time you smoked Marijuana? (Not until you guys started driving me crazy repeatedly asking these same two harassing questions.) The good news is I've finally learned where I've gone wrong in job interviews for manager. You have to convince the hiring manager that you know the two magic questions to ask all of your employees - 1) Where has your dick or pussy been & 2) When was the last time you did drugs? Apparently, this is the key to becoming a Master Gunnery Sergeant or a District Manager. A lawyer once told me success was all smoke & mirrors, but I know better, the key to success is controlling the conversation about dicks & drugs!

Anonymous said...

I'm curious why this isn't in the news? Or are you being libel?

legalschnauzer said...

By news, I assume you are talking about the mainstream news. Well, it's been reported at Tusc. News and al.com. Maybe you haven't been paying attention.

Anonymous said...

When do you think there will be a hearing to learn Fisher's side of the story? It is a disappointment if he is as guilty as he appears to be, but there is more than one side to this.

legalschnauzer said...

A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 23. I doubt we will hear much then about Fisher's side of the story, other than a not-guilty plea. I would be surprised if Fisher said anything at that hearing. My guess is that his lawyers (whoever they are) will do the talking.

Concerned defendant. said...

Any updates on this?

legalschnauzer said...

No, I haven't heard anything in a while, but you ask a good question, @2:06. Strange story.