Jeff Sessions and R. David Proctor used unethical tactics against a black U.S. judge -- and what does that say about Proctor's fitness to preside over our cases?

R. David Proctor

Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general, resorted to unethical tactics to get a black federal judge removed from a case in the 1990s. That is big news, especially when you consider the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet today regarding the Sessions nomination and is expected to vote on it within a week.

Another element of the story is big news in the Schnauzer household, and it should be important to anyone who someday might have a federal case heard in the Northern District of Alabama. That's because R. David Proctor, who helped Sessions pull off his scheme against U.S. Circuit judge U.W. Clemon (now retired) while working in private practice, now sits on the federal bench in Birmingham. In fact, Proctor is overseeing both of our pending federal lawsuits -- one over my unlawful five-month incarceration in Shelby County ("The Jail Case"), and the other over the wrongful foreclosure on our home of 25 years ("The House Case").

Do we have an objective, disinterested jurist overseeing our cases, as we are guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution? Not even close. Let's consider Proctor's cozy relationships with a number of individuals who clearly could be identified as enemies of my investigative reporting:

* GOP operative Jessica Medeiros Garrison is the No. 1 defendant in "The House Case." She once worked in Sessions' office, and we now have discovered that Proctor and Sessions have a cozy relationship. Does that mean Garrison is likely to receive favorable treatment from Proctor? A reasonable person could answer in the affirmative -- and that is the legal standard for requiring Proctor's disqualification.

* U.S. Circuit Judge Bill Pryor is a defendant in the "The Jail Case." Jessica Garrison also worked for Pryor, and Pryor's leading cheerleader long has been Jeff Sessions. In fact, it appears likely that Sessions will convince Trump to nominate Pryor to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Antonin Scalia. For good measure, Jessica Garrison also worked for Pryor and considers him to be her "mentor" and "hero." Does that mean the two of them are likely to receive favorable treatment from Proctor? A reasonable person could answer in the affirmative.

* Cliff Sims, founder of the right-wing propaganda Web site Yellowhammer News, is a defendant (along with his Web site) in "The House Case." Sims recently resigned to take a communications job in the Trump White House? Did Jeff Sessions help Sims get that job, and are the two chummy? Well, a photo on Sims' Facebook page, of Sims and his wife, Megan, with a certain U.S. senator answers that question. Does that mean Sims is likely to receive favorable treatment from Proctor? Again, a reasonable person could answer in the affirmative.

* It's undisputed that I was cheated out of my job as an editor at UAB for my reporting here at Legal Schnauzer about the political prosecution of Don Siegelman -- on my own time, with my own resources. Sessions had a major hand in bringing the Siegelman travesty to life -- he supported "hanging judge" Mark Fuller for a spot on the federal bench; after being elected to the U.S. Senate, Sessions pressed for Bill Pryor to be his replacement as Alabama attorney general, and Pryor launched an investigation of Siegelman before the latter had gotten his seat warm as governor. Does that mean Proctor, because of his ties to Sessions, is likely to be prejudiced against me? A reasonable person could answer in the affirmative.

* Proctor already has shown in "The Jail Case" that he is prone to rule unlawfully against us. Specifically, he has repeatedly butchered the law regarding our in forma pauperis (indigent) status and forced us to appeal to the Eleventh Circuit in an effort to see that simple, black-letter law is applied correctly. That appeal is pending, and my guess is the Eleventh Circuit (which includes Pryor) has put our case in deep storage, wasting time to help cover Proctor's substantial ass.

* We've moved for Proctor's recusal once already, before his ties to Sessions came to light. Proctor, of course, refused to step down, but we likely will be forced to file a second recusal motion. If Proctor refuses to follow the law that requires his disqualification, and he continues to cheat us, we are going to make a noise about it that the judge will not soon forget.

Jeff Sessions, with Cliff and Megan Sims

We've spent roughly 17 years being cheated repeatedly by state and federal judges -- in both Missouri and Alabama -- and I am more than a little tired of it. In Proctor's case, he has refused to disclose his tendency to play footsy with enemies of this blog -- and that is particularly alarming because it points to possible corruption on a major scale.

Let's consider this question: Is it possible David Proctor is on the federal bench because of his 1990s ties to Jeff Sessions? Is it even possible that they engaged in an unlawful quid pro quo ("something for something") deal -- with Sessions agreeing to support Proctor as a federal judge in exchange for help getting U.W. Clemon off the USX Corp. v. Tieco Inc. case?

Could another quid pro quo be in place? If Proctor will screw me over -- removing Legal Schnauzer as a thorn in Bill Pryor's side (and Jessica Garrison's and Cliff Sims') because of our coverage of Pryor's gay-porn activities -- will Sessions push for Proctor's elevation to a circuit judge, maybe even SCOTUS someday?

Heck, Proctor could replace Pryor on the 11th Circuit and be in line for a Trump nomination to SCOTUS in a couple of years. What if such an agreement already is in place? If so, it would point to criminality of the highest order.

I would say at least one of the above scenarios  is extremely likely. That kind of corrupt deal-making should cause Jeff Sessions to be voted down as attorney general, and R. David Proctor should be investigated and possibly bounced from the federal bench.

It's entirely possible that both should wind up in federal prison. The smell emanating from USX v. Tieco -- and from our own two cases currently before Proctor -- indicates that is exactly where they belong. If the Trump Train soon implodes -- and there are enough investigations in progress to suggest that could happen -- we might find Sessions and Proctor in prison together. Perhaps a whole bunch of other Trumpistas will be there with them.