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| Al Crowson (second from left) and some of the other sleazeoids who inhabit the hideously corrupt Shelby County Courthouse (From facebook.com) |
Shelby County Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson not only is awful on the bench, his rulings indicate he is a dreadful human being. If Crowson now is suffering in pain, well, you won't be hearing any sympathy from here. In fact, we file it under the heading of "Karma is a Bee-atch."
We don't have all the details about Crowson's condition, but a source said he had a stroke and was involved in a serious car crash a few weeks back. We're not sure if the stroke caused the car crash, but it appears the judge is not in good shape. His son, Danny Crowson (also a Shelby County judge) has written on Facebook about his father's general condition and the car crash.
How horrible a judge was Al Crowson? Learning the details of just one case -- the Rollins v. Rollins divorce -- will tell you all you need to know. Here are some of the basics from the Rollins case:
Ted Rollins, the head of Charlotte-based Campus Crest Communities, helped his company complete a $380-million IPO late last year. And a South Carolina divorce-court judge found that Rollins belongs to one of the nation's wealthiest families and has the use of multiple private aircraft. But Rollins managed to get the divorce case unlawfully moved to Alabama, and the resulting judgment means that his ex wife and two daughters qualify for food stamps.
Sherry Carroll Rollins said she and the girls now are on food stamps--and have been for some time. That's because Alabama Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson ordered Ted Rollins to pay only $500 in alimony and $815 in child support--a monthly total of $1,315. Our research indicates that is a shockingly low level of support for a man of Rollins' means, a CEO whose family owns Orkin Pest Control and other highly profitable enterprises.
Yes, Al Crowson caused a woman and her two young daughters -- who were connected to one of the nation's wealthiest families -- to wind up on food stamps. What a prince of a guy! What a responsible use of public resources!
Did someone pay Crowson under the table to make such outlandish rulings? The evidence overwhelmingly suggests the answer is yes. The following shows that Crowson's actions were crooked to an almost unreal extent:
The case was heard in Shelby County, Alabama, and Mr. Rollins received an extraordinarily favorable judgment, even though Mrs. Rollins had sued him for divorce some three years earlier in Greenville, South Carolina--where the couple had lived and where numerous court orders already had been entered. Simple jurisdictional law--call it Law School 101--shows that such a judicial heist cannot be done. But Alabama Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson did it anyway, violating all sorts of law that perhaps is best explained in a case styled Wesson v. Wesson, 628 So. 2d 953 (Ala., 1993). Here is the key finding:
"Once jurisdiction has attached in one court, that court has the exclusive right to continue its exercise of power until the completion of the case, and is only subject to appellate authority."
Legal doctrine doesn't come much shorter or simpler than that. Based on the clear language in Wesson, Sherry Carroll Rollins and the two daughters she had with Ted Rollins (now teens and living with their mother in Alabama) received a "shaft job" that would make Isaac Hayes blush.
Yes, the case had been litigated for three years in South Carolina, jurisdiction had been established there, and it could not be moved elsewhere -- in South Carolina and certainly not to Alabama. But Al Crowson essentially stole the case and robbed Sherry Rollins of marital assets that lawfully were hers -- and robbed her daughters of childhoods they never will get back.
So, we hear Al Crowson is suffering now? I can't wipe the smile off my face. The Bible says I'm not supposed to have such a reaction? But I'm a human being, I know what it's like to be abused by individuals in authority, and I'm glad to see Al Crowson get just a taste of what he has dished out for many years.
The only bad thing, in my view, is that the bastard is still alive.
Karma, meet Al. Feel free to kick him in the pants.
ReplyDeleteSchnauzer, please quit mincing words. Not sure how you feel about Crowson.`
ReplyDelete@2:58 --
ReplyDeleteI hear you. The funny thing is I've never personally had a case before Crowson. But I've read the Rollins v. Rollins file from beginning to end, and it's appalling what he did in that case. The ones in Shelby County I personally despise the most are Jackson, Joiner, and Reeves. I'm not sure hell has a spot warm enough for those three a-holes.
If you read the comments on Danny Crowson's Facebook page, people write in like they love and adore Al Crowson. Do they see something you don't, Schnauzer.
ReplyDelete@3:06 --
ReplyDeleteI don't know what they see, but I noticed those comments, too. Most of them are from lawyers, law-enforcement types, Shelby Co. government types, or people related to someone in those categories. In other words, it is classic tribalism. A lot of people writing those nice things benefit from the system the way it is, they make money off the corrupt culture that Al Crowson created.
Think I read that Crowson had officially retired some time ago, but he returned to the bench, exclusively to hear divorce cases. Wonder why?
ReplyDelete@3:19 --
ReplyDeleteHe did that because that's where the easy money is. Plus, there is no law (for all intents and purposes) that governs divorce cases. What little law there is can be easily ignored to favor the party who paid the judge under the table.
It's easy work and easy money. The ones who love Crowson the most are divorce lawyers.
LS, you seem to be saying that the ones who benefit from Crowson's misdeeds write glowing things about him on Facebook, while the rest of us are liable to be screwed by Crowson and should hate his guts.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I'm saying. These people don't adore Al Crowson because he's a good person; most of them know he's a giant chunk of excrement who routinely cheats people and makes a mockery of the law. But they adore the fact Al Crowson helps line their pockets, and they don't care about the women (some men) and children who suffer.
ReplyDeleteCrowson is in the same league with Sibley Reynolds, in Chilton Co. Both need to be in prison.
If Crowson takes an unusually large chunk of divorce cases, doesn't that violate the parties right to have a randomly selected judge? Isn't that a due-process violation?
ReplyDeleteYou are right on both counts, @3:34. It's an absolute violation of the U.S. Constitution's due-process clause. Do the people in Shelby County care? Not one bit. It's like the commercial litigation docket that Scott Vowell set up for Judge Robert Vance in Jefferson County. That violates the Alabama constitution (as does Crowson's gig), and it was declared unconstitutional. That's a key part of the Cashion v. Hayden case I've written about numerous times.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is tribalism. Tribes make up their own rules, aside from the rules that govern the society at large. That's exactly what happens in Shelby County.
One thing that makes Shelby County so corrupt is that the courthouse and other governmental operations are in Columbiana, on the edge of civilization. Nobody in his right mind wants to go to Columbiana unless he absolutely has to, so it's easy for a corrupt tribal culture to grow there. If the county seat was in Pelham or Alabaster, where it should be, I think the corruption would be lessened.
ReplyDeletethere is that old saying of, you reap what you sow. Guess karma has come around for this Judge.
ReplyDeleteI recall you writing about the Rollins case and was always amazed how some one could get so little out of divorce settlement. It may not get Ms. Rollins any more money but at least the judge won't be doing this to other people. A fitting end for a very miserable person.
His deceased son Danny Crowson was a Genuine piece of horse excrement as well; apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
DeleteThe corruption has continued. If you don't have money, you can't win. If you do you can't lose.
DeleteI'm afraid that the corruption is still going on.. The most money gets what they want. You can't hire a lawyer that will stand up for what is right. They are all afraid of being put out of the loop.
ReplyDeleteNot a surprise that corruption runs rampant in columbiana. That whole place reeks of bad vibes.
ReplyDeleteI’m researching Simpson right now. I found a prior law suit on him (which was dropped like a hot potato, of course).
ReplyDeleteMy sister has him as her divorce judge and he’s the worst! Trash husband cheated while she was going through treatment (almost died 3 times). She finds out and files for divorce. He drains the bank accounts, stays in contempt the entire time, she never gets a hearing. At divorce trial Simpson says if she goes to trial he won’t have to pay any of her attorney fees. Because ex called his lawyer every flippin day, which caused hers to go up, her fees were $35k (which forced her to settle). As I’m writing this, they’re even higher.
Ex still hasn’t done ANYTHING he’s supposed to, still in contempt (she has no money and still needs cancer treatments). She’s been waiting for a contempt court date for over a month! Bastard just files a contempt charge against her for a bunch of outrageous LIES and bam, she has a court date in April!!! Right now, he’s not paying her alimony, he hasn’t split his retirement… the list goes on and on. She can’t pay her medical bills and her car is in repo. He’s screwed her credit!!! She has freaking cancer!!! Judge Simpson, bastard ex and EVERYONE’s lawyers are ALL responsible and crooked!!
Bob Riley appointed Simpson, so you might want to keep that in mind.
ReplyDelete