Jessica Garrison's Goal Is to Follow Luther Strange, All The Way To The Presidency Of The United States

Jessica Garrison, in
Abigail Adams attire

Jessica Medeiros Garrison says in a recent newspaper interview that her goal is to become chief of staff to First Lady Melissa Strange when Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange becomes president.

This is not a joke, folks; it's in the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ), where Garrison was named one of the paper's "Top 40 Under 40" for 2013.

We can't decide which is more bizarre . . . that Garrison believes Luther Strange will become president of the United States--or that she seems to think the way to Melissa Strange's heart is by having an affair with her husband.

We've already established that Garrison has engaged in a long-running affair with Luther Strange, for whom she served as campaign manager in 2010. We've also established that Luther Strange has directed a steady flow of cash to a holding company owned by Garrison. And she has wound up living in a Mountain Brook home appraised at more than $400,000, in a transaction that includes all sorts of peculiarities.

Now, the BBJ article provides some of the darnedest reading we've seen in a while. First, we learn that Garrison's historical hero is Abigail Adams, and Garrison is dressed for her photograph in what appears to be period clothing.

When asked for her real-life hero, Garrison provides this answer:

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bill Pryor. He has given me invaluable opportunities and advice since I was in college. We remain good friends today and I continue to enjoy the often-colorful counsel from my mentor.

We learn about Garrison's views on key policy issues:

What’s a hot topic in your industry? Federalism and federal overreach which includes issues such as the Dodd-Frank Act and the appropriate level of regulation of financial markets, the state versus federal role in consumer protection and unconstitutional mandates.

Does Garrison keep up with the news? In an era of historic financial corruption, she apparently thinks the answer is less federal oversight, not more. Well, now we know she's a true Federalist Society believer, which isn't surprising since she is buds with Bill Pryor.

The "money" question and reply come here:

Your ultimate career goal? Chief of staff to First Lady Melissa Strange when Attorney General Luther Strange is president.

We go on to learn that Garrison's guilty pleasures are "wine, dark chocolate, and sheep's milk cheeses." Her favorite spot on the planet is "Katama Airfield in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard." (A Republican likes Martha's Vineyard? I didn't think that was allowed.)

My main question is this: How did the interviewer keep a straight face after receiving that answer about Luther Strange in the White House?

The White House Fears An Attempt On Obama's Life If He Tries To Hold Bush-Era Criminals Accountable

President Obama fears an assassination attempt if his administration tries to prosecute apparent crimes from the George W. Bush terms, according to a new book by a veteran Washington, D.C., lawyer and journalist.

In fact, the president's security plan has been significantly enhanced for 2013, reports Andrew Kreig in Presidential Puppetry: Obama, Romney, and Their Masters. Obama's dismal performance in the first presidential debate against Republican nominee Mitt Romney might have been driven in part, Kreig writes, by a report from military aides earlier that day of a plot against the president.

Released in paperback on July 26, Presidential Puppetry is the first book to encompass the Obama second term and one of the first to examine the 2012 elections. 

Kreig's primary thesis is that elites from both political parties have failed everyday Americans on the economy, privacy, civil rights, national security, and a host of other fundamental issues that are supposed to under gird our democracy. Kreig reports that voting machines controlled by private entities put our election integrity at risk. And he shows that neither party has the fortitude to fix a justice system that has gone wildly off track, perhaps most famously in the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

Concerns about Obama's safety first made national news in fall 2011 when top advisor Christopher Edley Jr. said the transition team preparing the Obama administration in 2009 feared a "revolt" if they tried to prosecute Bush-era law breaking. Edley, dean of the University of California law school, did not state what form a revolt might take. But Kreig writes in Presidential Puppetry:

The context of his comments suggested their fear that senior defense and national security officials and their outside patrons might undertake violent reprisal in some fashion.

History tells us that any hint at assassination must be taken seriously, Kreig writes:

We cannot ignore the physical attacks on United States leaders in modern times as an additional factor in explaining Obama's behavior. Official inquiries after the attacks almost always determined that crazed assassins and would-be assassins acted entirely on their own to commit the crimes. Most of us are far too busy to research, much less dispute, these official findings.

What is the real-world impact of security concerns surrounding the president? One example came in the first presidential debate against Romney in fall 2012, when Obama performed as if he was on a powerful anesthetic. Writes Kreig:

Obama's debate performance was so beneath his abilities that former Senate counsel, [Joe] Biden aide, and retired judge Lillian McEwen suggested to me shortly after the debate that the president seemed like a man dazed from a sudden threat upon his life. Her observation was prescient. A reliable source with strong national intelligence and political ties later told me that on the day of the debate, Obama was informed by military aides of a plot against him and the country. Such a plot would be one of the darkest chapters in American history, rivaling Aaron Burr's empire building schemes of yore.

Kreig is scheduled to discuss Presidential Puppetry at events in Alabama on August 22.

Jessica Garrison's Political Ties Go Beyond Strange; Right-Wing Federal Judge Bill Pryor Is Her "Hero"

Jessica M. Garrison, with Bill Pryor
and Jeff Sessions

Republican operative Jessica Medeiros Garrison has become known in recent weeks for her connections to Luther Strange, including an extramarital affair with the Alabama attorney general. But in a strictly political sense, Garrison's strongest ties might be to another Republican, one of national significance.

We are talking about U.S. Circuit Judge William H. "Bill" Pryor, who entered the spotlight in 2003 when he became President George W. Bush's controversial nominee to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Pryor drew such strong opposition from Democrats, primarily because of his stance against abortion rights, that Bush was forced to make a recess appointment in February 2004. Among the issues at Pryor's confirmation hearing was his decision to schedule a family vacation to Disney World so as not to coincide with the park's "Gay Days" festivities.

Pryor's national profile recently became even stronger when President Obama inexplicably appointed him to a six-year term on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. By statute, the commission must be bipartisan, and at least three of its members must be federal judges. But of all the federal judges in the country, including Republican appointees from Democratic-leaning states, why would Obama choose Bill Pryor? Was it a favor to U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a long-time Pryor supporter?

In a recent newspaper interview, Jessica Garrison lists Bill Pryor as her "real-life hero" and calls him a "mentor" who has given her invaluable advice "since I was in college." (More on that interview in an upcoming post.) The relationship apparently started when Garrison worked as an intern in the attorney general's office under Sessions, and Pryor was one of his chief deputies. When Pryor ascended to the AG's position, Garrison worked for him in public relations and legislative affairs.

Many Alabamians probably assume that Pryor is based in Atlanta, home to the Eleventh Circuit. But he lives in Birmingham and is based at the Hugo Black U.S. Courthouse downtown, where he has an office on the ninth floor.

Pryor's profile, however, extends beyond the courthouse door. He is involved with a Birmingham-based ministry that has connections to the downtown law firm where Garrison serves in an "of counsel" position. And Pryor started the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), which now is Garrison's primary employer.

That raises this question: Has Bill Pryor been involved in the maneuvering that apparently started with the Strange/Garrison affair, her divorce from Tuscaloosa city councilman Lee Garrison, and her effort to modify their custody agreement so she could take a job under Strange at the attorney general's office? More specifically, has Pryor been involved in the curious financial payments and peculiar real-estate transactions that are central to the Strange/Garrison saga?

Pryor is known as "the Johnny Appleseed" of the Federalist Society, the ultra-conservative legal group for which he started chapters in New Orleans and Birmingham. He also is known as a deeply religious sort who wears his Catholic faith for all to see. 

If Bill Pryor is such a moral guy, why would he come anywhere near the mess that Luther Strange and Jessica Garrison have created? Besides that, what kind of mentor is Bill Pryor if one of his acolytes becomes ensnared in a scandal that involves an extramarital affair and other ugliness?

What about Pryor's ties to a Birmingham "ministry"--and why would he be involved in such an organization, given that he is a federal judge in a democracy that supposedly is based, in part, on a separation of church and state?

The Web site for the Fixed Point Foundation states that its mission is "to seek innovative ways to defend and proclaim the Gospel and to prepare Christians to do the same." Prominent among Fixed Point's speakers is Bill Pryor, and he has served as a debate moderator for the foundation. 

Fixed Point's staff includes Will Hill Tankersley, a partner at Birmingham's Balch Bingham, as outside general counsel. The Balch firm happens to be where Jessica Garrison landed an "of counsel" position after having to give up her position in the attorney general's office in order to resolve a custody dispute.

To add to the intrigue, Garrison's primary job is with RAGA, which is an affiliate of the D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). As we noted in a previous post, Luther Strange has a habit of using RSLC as more or less a money-laundering organization:

We know that Strange takes hypocrisy on gambling issues to monumental dimensions. After all, this is the guy who has tried to shut down non-Indian gaming facilities, such as VictoryLand in Macon County and Center Stage Alabama in Houston County, while taking a $100,000 campaign contribution from the Poarch Creek casinos. This also is the guy who used the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) to help obscure the donation via a PAC-to-PAC transfer.

Federal judges have lifetime appointments, so the public and the press tend to think they are above scrutiny. But perhaps it's time to shine a spotlight on Bill Pryor's ties to the Luther Strange/Jessica Garrison mess.

In the meantime, here is Bill Pryor speaking at a 2007 Federalist Society symposium on morality and the law:

Eleven Weeks After Being Rear-Ended On Hwy. 280, Sherry Rollins Has Ongoing Pain and No Vehicle

UAB nurse Shawn Henson

When we last reported on Sherry Carroll Rollins, she was struggling to regain her senses after being rear-ended on Highway 280 in a crash that totaled her vehicle and left her passenger with a detached retina.

Rollins emerged from the wreck with no visible injuries, but she has reported periodic pain in different areas that range pretty much from head to toe. Her situation is complicated by two factors: (1) The vehicle was not in her name but in the name of her ex husband, Campus Crest Communities CEO Ted Rollins; (2) She has no health insurance, thanks largely to the cheat job she received in the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case, over which Shelby County Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson unlawfully presided.

How is Sherry Rollins doing now, almost 11 weeks after the wreck happened on May 24? Well, she probably is not doing nearly as well as Shawn Taylor Henson, the 23-year-old UAB nurse who hit her. In a May 28 post on his Facebook page, Henson features a picture of a red truck that he is driving while his Acura is being repaired from crashing into the rear of Sherry Rollins' Subaru.

Meanwhile, Ms. Rollins has no vehicle. She has no way to drive her daughter, Emma, to school when it starts in a few days. They recently had to take a taxi cab for Emma to get shots and a checkup for the school year. Also, Sherry Rollins still has not received a thorough medical checkup, and she has no idea about the kind of physical toll the wreck might have taken on her. She did visit St. Vincent's emergency room, but received only a limited exam when she reported being uninsured.

And get this: Ted Rollins reportedly received about $9,000 in insurance money for the Subaru, but he has chosen to pocket it rather than apply it toward a new vehicle for his daughter and ex wife. This from a man who, at last report, owns three private jets and is CEO of a company that has received about $800 million in Wall Street support since late 2010.

As for the wreck itself, there is no question about who was at fault. This is from a May 28 post on Shawn Henson's Facebook page:

For those of you who are unaware, I was in an accident Friday night. I've always been a safe driver, and this experience has definitely shown me that even looking down for a SECOND can be too long. So, this red truck shall be my ride until the Acura is fixed. Very thankful that the car was all that was damaged.

A friend wrote, "AGAIN?!?! Didn't you just get hit back a few days ago?" Henson responded with this:

Yes. Last time, someone else hit me in the parking lot. This one was on me.

Shawn Henson admits he was at fault, but he apparently is fine and has had a vehicle to drive all this time. Sherry Rollins has not even had a genuine medical exam to determine if she is fine, and she has been without a vehicle for almost 11 weeks--plus, she has no way to get her 15-year-old daughter to school in a few days.

Is that a just outcome?

The alert reader might ask, "Can't Sherry Rollins get a lawyer to help her?" Well, she's been to at least three--James Beaird in Jasper, David Wininger in downtown Birmingham, and Gusty Yearout in Mountain Brook. All three have more or less shrugged their shoulders and indicated they couldn't do much. None of them offered a strategy for addressing Ms. Rollins' two most immediate needs--getting a thorough medical checkup and obtaining a replacement vehicle.

Shouldn't Shawn Henson's insurer be responsible for filling those needs, not to mention paying any damages that might be proven with an investigation of the crash? I don't pretend to be an expert on personal-injury law, but I would think that a semi competent lawyer in these circumstances should be able to ensure that (1) Sherry Rollins gets seen by a doctor; (2) She gets a replacement vehicle in a prompt fashion; (3) The crash is investigated to determine what (or who) might have contributed to Shawn Henson's reckless driving.

Beaird, Wininger, and Yearout are experienced personal-injury lawyers, well known in the profession. But not one of them even hinted to Sherry Rollins that they could help her with any of the three issues noted above.

Ted Rollins already has demonstrated that, with the apparent help of his corporate law firm (Birmingham's Bradley Arant), he can manipulate a divorce case in Shelby County, Alabama. Are the same forces powerful enough to ensure that the area legal tribe turns its back on Sherry Rollins in a personal-injury matter? A reasonable person might ask that question.

In our June 10 post on the wreck, we noted several oddities, based on information in the accident report and from Sherry Rollins. (See accident report at the end of this post.)

* Was the UAB nurse driving without lights at 8:05 p.m.?

* How could the UAB nurse have caught up to a vehicle driving 45 mph and inflicted that much damage while driving 50 mph?

* How do you accidentally hit a vehicle that hard when it is moving in front of you, when it has not braked? Did the nurse's air bags deploy before impact or upon impact?

* Why did the St. Vincent's ER physician say it sounded like possibly the strangest wreck he had ever heard about?

That last question might be the most interesting one of all. This came from Dr. John Ammon, a veteran ER doc who probably has treated thousands of wreck victims. The story Sherry Rollins told him--that she was driving about 45 mph and still got mashed in the rear by a vehicle supposedly driving 50--reportedly left him baffled.

Wouldn't it be interesting to interview Dr. Ammon? Wouldn't it be enlightening to look into Shawn Henson's background, at his phone and e-mail records, at his trip to Atlanta just before the crash, and his apparent taste for sporty, luxury cars (per his Facebook page, which by the way, no longer includes posts about the Atlanta trip; they seem to have vanished.) Who was Shawn Henson visiting in the tony Buckhead section of Atlanta, anyway?

Is it possible that someone with much deeper pockets than Shawn Henson's orchestrated this crash and should be held accountable? Is it possible that person has connections to Atlanta, home to Orkin Pest Control and its umbrella company, Rollins Inc.?

Shouldn't a semi-motivated personal-injury lawyer be willing to ask such questions, especially with a possible major payday hanging in the balance? Why do Birmingham lawyers, so far, show not the slightest inquisitiveness about the crash that has upended Sherry Rollins' life?

Sherry Rollins Accident Report by Roger Shuler

Purchase Of House In Fashionable Mountain Brook Was Key Event In Jessica Medeiros Garrison Saga

Luther Strange and
Jessica Medeiros Garrison

The curious sale of a house in Mountain Brook appears to play a central role in the story of Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and his former campaign manager, Jessica Medeiros Garrison.

Strange and Garrison have engaged in a long-running extramarital affair that calls into question any moral authority he might claim as Alabama's chief law-enforcement officer. But a roundabout real-estate transaction in Crestline, a fashionable section of Alabama's priciest suburb, turns the spotlight off sex and onto another great motivator--money.

The house, at 119 Main Street in Mountain Brook, is in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the Birmingham metro area. The house is not huge--property records show it has 2,213 square feet, but it has plenty of what real-estate agents call "curb appeal." That, plus its setting in the prestigious Mountain Brook School System, lift its appraised value to $439,900.

That kind of payment will get you a veritable mansion in some parts of Alabama. But in Crestline, it gets you a "cute cottage"--and that's what Jessica Medeiros Garrison has.

How did this house come to be a factor on the Alabama political scene? Follow me on a brief journey of courtroom and real-estate intrigue:

After Jessica M. Garrison divorced Tuscaloosa city councilman Lee Garrison in 2009, she managed Luther Strange's successful 2010 campaign for attorney general. She then planned to move with her son, Michael Lee Garrison (date of birth, 3/27/07), to Montgomery in order to take a job as chief counsel and deputy attorney general in Strange's office.

Lee Garrison objected to the move, citing the Alabama Relocation Act, which places limits on moves of more than 60 miles. (See Motion for Partial Summary Judgment at the end of this post.) A custody battle ensued, and it was not settled until Jessica Garrison gave up her post with the attorney general's office and found employment in Birmingham with the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and the Balch Bingham law firm. (See Amended Motion for Emergency Hearing and Order on Custody at the end of this post.)

Jessica Garrison's purchase of the house in Crestline proved to be crucial in the custody case. From court documents:

The parties were divorced . . . on October 21, 2009 . . . [and] the parties have joint legal and physical custody of their minor child. . . . The Plaintiff (hereinafter "Mother") initially petitioned this court on December 9, 2010, for full custody of the minor child due to a material change in circumstances, and included in her petition notification of an anticipated relocation. The Defendant (hereinafter "Father") responded, objecting to the proposed relocation, and counter-petitioned for a modification of custody. The Mother was able to secure alternate employment that did not require her to move more than sixty (60) miles from the residence of the Father, and she amended her Petition for Modification of Custody accordingly. The Mother's new address is 119 Main Street, Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Father's address remains 1609 Alaca Place, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 

Was Jessica Garrison cutting it close, under the law? Yes, she was. From the document:

The straight line measure between the two residences is 50.9 miles. . . . The shortest distance between these two locations as practically measured by a vehicle odometer is confirmed to be less than sixty miles. . . . 

Records suggest that Jessica Garrison needed to not only find a house in the Birmingham area, but it had to be in the right part of the metro area. Many locations would have been well outside the 60-mile distance from her ex husband's residence in Tuscaloosa.

The ability to find and purchase a house in the heart of Crestline proved to be fortuitous to Jessica Garrison--and probably to her mentor and close personal friend, Luther Strange.

Why do we refer to the purchase as "curious." Well, when you examine certain documents closely, you notice a peculiar sales price, some dates that don't add up, and other unusual circumstances.

And speaking of money, it appears there were financial winners and financial losers in this transaction--with political power brokers perhaps pushing matters in a direction that was favorable to them.

We will take a closer look at all of this in upcoming posts.

(To be continued)

Garrison Divorce--Partial Summary Judgment by Roger Shuler

Garrison Divorce--Emergency Hearing on Custody by Roger Shuler

Garrison Divorce--Order on Custody by Roger Shuler

The Constitution's Lofty Status Under Alabama Law Means Electronic Bingo Hearing In Dothan Is A Sham

Center Stage Alabama

A hearing continues today in Dothan on last year's seizure of cash and electronic-bingo machines from Center Stage Alabama. Everyone involved seems to be acting as if there is a genuine legal controversy, but there isn't.

Electronic bingo is legal at Center Stage, and every lawyer in the Houston County Courthouse should know it. That means Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and his agents acted unlawfully when they raided the facility last July, taking 691 machines and $283,000 in cash. That means the forfeiture hearing, now in its second full day, should have been over in about five minutes--with property returned to Center Stage, and Strange referred to the U.S. Justice Department for investigation.

How can we say that with certainty? It's because of a simple provision of law that holds in Alabama--and probably all 50 states. It's the kind of common-sense holding that would-be lawyers probably learn in the first week of law school. But Luther Strange ignores it as he wastes taxpayer dollars on a crusade that is not grounded in law. For that matter, former governor Bob Riley did the same thing when he launched his anti-gambling task force in December 2008.

What is the principal that should be guiding the forfeiture hearing in Dothan? Here is the simple version: The constitution trumps a state statute.

Another way to look at it: When the constitution and a statute appear to be at odds, the constitution prevails.

Houston County Circuit Judge Michael Conaway has to know that; it's unlikely that anyone could pass a bar exam without knowing that. So why has Conaway allowed the forfeiture hearing to drag into a second day? Our best guess is that Bob Riley appointed Conaway to the bench, so the judge now is part of a high-level conspiracy to convince Alabamians there is a controversy about electronic bingo in Alabama.

No such controversy exists, at least not in Houston County, home to Center Stage, and Macon County, home to VictoryLand. And yet, Luther Strange has directed raids at both facilities.

How does Strange get away with it? Well, he is a pro-corporate Republican of the sort favored by Alabama's white elites--and such GOPers also are supported at the polls by many middle-class whites who inexplicably vote against their own economic interests.

But it doesn't end there. Our appellate courts are 100-percent controlled by such Republicans. Our corporate-owned mainstream press is not about to wake up and inform Alabamians that Bob Riley and Luther Strange have poured millions of taxpayer dollars down a sinkhole. And the Obama Justice Department, so far, has shown that it doesn't have the spine to take on corruption that started under George W. Bush, especially in a deep-red state that Democrats aren't likely to win any time soon.

We haven't studied all of the constitutional amendments that allow electronic bingo in various Alabama counties. But Amendment 569, Bingo Games in Houston County, is easy to understand. So is Amendment 744, Bingo Games in Macon County. Here is the primary difference between them: In Houston County, the county commission is charged with promulgating rules and regulations on bingo; in Macon County, that duty falls to the sheriff.

Either way, the Alabama Constitution provides no role for the attorney general if the regulating authorities determine bingo is legal in a particular county.

So why the controversy? Well, there isn't one--under the law. Luther Strange and Bob Riley, it appears, have a political interest in creating a phony controversy. That's probably because it will benefit the Indian gaming entities who have backed them financially.

Dothan-based rickeystokesnews.com is providing up-to-the minute reports from the Houston County Courthouse, and the proceeding sounds like a replay of the hearing earlier this year over a liquor license for the VictoryLand casino.

Various agents for Luther Strange have paraded to the stand to testify that, in their opinion, the Center Stage equipment amounts to slot machines that are illegal by Alabama statute. Here is an example of the issues at hand, from a live report at rickeystokesnews, focusing on an exchange between AG attorney Sonny Reagan and agent Gene Sisson:

Reagan is still questioning Agent Sisson. States Exhibit 6. Reagan asks Sisson to identify a game that is being played. Lucky Star System. Agent Sisson’s hand.

The Lucky Star System is not that much different than any other game we have looked at. Sisson’s recollection is that you purchase the ticket from the Mega window. He can’t recall if there was a Lucky Star window or not. It was a new game.

Agent Sisson is describing the screen. Reagan is asking if this system played in the same fashion as the other game. Sisson says yes and that there are also time restraints on the game like the other games.

That's all interesting, but if the Houston County Commission finds the machines constitute a form of bingo, they are legal. The Alabama Constitution, as approved by voters in Amendment 569, says so. 

A simple check of Alabama case law makes it clear. We provided evidence in a post earlier this year about VictoryLand and its owner, Milton McGregor:

Perhaps McGregor's strongest argument, however, comes from a simple legal concept that is spelled out across Alabama state law. Here is one way to put it: If a conflict exists between a state statute and a constitutional amendment, the Alabama Supreme Court has held that the constitutional amendment controls and takes precedence over the statute.

In other words, the constitution trumps a statute. And a case styled Chorba-Lee Scholarship Fund Inc., et al v. Sheriff Mike Hale, et al, 60 So. 3d 279 (2010) is one of many cases that spell it out:

"Undeniably, the legislature cannot enact a statute that conflicts with the Constitution, that is, that prohibits that which is permitted by the Constitution or that permits that which is prohibited by the Constitution.'" Opinion of the Justices No. 373, 795 So.2d 630, 632 (Ala.2001) (quoting City of Birmingham v. Graffeo, 551 So.2d 357, 361-62 (Ala. 1989)).

Law does not get much more simple than this, and we've provided links to the case law that proves our fundamental point: The constitution trumps a state statute--and that means bingo is legal in Houston County and Macon County.

Why, then, are a bunch of attorneys and law-enforcement agents engaged in a charade at the Houston County Courthouse? What has been driving Bob Riley and Luther Strange to declare that lawful bingo operations are illegal?

Alabamians should be taking a hard look at those questions.

How Will Alabama's Crimson Tide Nation React To CEO Ted Rollins And His History As A Child Abuser?

Ted Rollins (right), with
Penn State booster Jack McWhirter

I know many University of Alabama supporters, and they tend to be a conservative bunch, touting God, family, and football--not necessarily in that order.

How will Crimson Tide nation take to a corporate executive who is entering their environs with a documented history as a child abuser? How will that square with UA's notion of family values?

We are about to find out because Charlotte-based Campus Crest Communities is seeking approval to build a student-housing complex near the University of Alabama campus. It will be known as The Grove at Tuscaloosa, and the 228-unit complex is planned for Fifth Street Northeast, at the site of the former Riverview Water Treatment plant. 

Ted Rollins, CEO of Campus Crest Communities, has been the topic of frequent reports here at Legal Schnauzer, mainly because of his central role in the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case, which reached a conclusion in Shelby County, Alabama, even though it had been originally filed in Greenville, South Carolina (the proper jurisdiction), and litigated there for three years.

We have called Rollins v. Rollins the most grossly unjust outcome we've encountered in a civil court case. The judgment in Shelby County was so unlawful and one-sided that it left ex wife Sherry Carroll Rollins and the couple's two daughters (Sarah and Emma Rollins) on and off food stamps at their Birmingham residence. Meanwhile, Ted Rollins owns three private jets, and his company has received roughly $800 million in Wall Street support.

On top of that, Ted Rollins comes from one of the nation's wealthiest families--the folks behind Rollins Inc. (the umbrella company for Orkin Pest Control and RPC Inc.), plus Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment and Rollins Jamaica Ltd. 

How did Ted Rollins manage to pull off a monstrous cheat job against his ex wife and daughters in an Alabama courtroom? Public records suggest he did it with assistance from his corporate law firm, the highly influential Bradley Arant in downtown Birmingham.

If The Grove becomes a reality in Tuscaloosa--and it almost certainly will--UA students who rent apartments there had best beware. If they have a dispute with the property's owners, Ted Rollins has a documented history of bludgeoning his opponents--and receiving flagrantly unlawful favors--in Alabama courtrooms.

But that's not all. Ted Rollins also has a history of treating young people like punching bags--and we mean that quite literally. (See documents at the end of this post.)

Public records show that Rollins was convicted for assault on his 16-year-old stepson in Franklin County, North Carolina. Under North Carolina law, the beating met the definition of child abuse, although Rollins was not prosecuted for that. Here are a couple of posts where we have covered that issue:

Campus Crest Communities CEO Ted Rollins Has A Conviction For Assault In His Background (May 2, 2012)

How Was Campus Crest CEO Ted Rollins Convicted Of "Simple Assault" In North Carolina? (May 10, 2012)

Ted Rollins' ugliness toward young people does not end there. He also was investigated for child sexual abuse of the same stepson, based on a complaint from an anonymous citizen. We covered that in the following posts:

Campus Crest Communities CEO Ted Rollins Was Investigated For The Sexual Abuse Of His Stepson (September 12, 2012)

Towels Soiled With Feces Point To Child Sexual Abuse Involving CEO Ted Rollins (September 13, 2012)

Ted Rollins has proven that he is a brazen fellow. The Grove at State College is scheduled to open this month in central Pennsylvania. Campus Crest will be marketing the facility to students at Penn State, home to the still-unfolding Jerry Sandusky child-abuse scandal. We have yet to see any signs that Penn State supporters are concerned that a company led by a child abuser intends to make money off the university's students and their parents. That's probably because the Penn State community remains in the dark, for now, about Ted Rollins and the ugliness in his background.

University of Alabama supporters should not be able to claim ignorance. After all, Rollins has deep ties to our state. He already has student-housing complexes at four Alabama institutions--South Alabama, Troy, Jacksonville State, and Auburn. The gross corruption in the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case should be apparent to anyone who cares to check public court files in Alabama. Plus, a number of Ted Rollins' victims live in our state--and that includes his ex wife and two daughters, plus the stepson (Zac Parrish) Rollins abused on multiple occasions. Parrish, now in his early 30s, works as a residential-construction contractor in the Birmingham area.

Will the University of Alabama and its Crimson Tide nation sit quietly while Ted Rollins operates under their noses? Perhaps we will learn more when Campus Crest goes before the Tuscaloosa City Council on a rezoning request.

Ted Rollins Arrested for Assault by Roger Shuler

Ted Rollins Convicted of Assault by Roger Shuler

Lying Luther Strange Has Trouble Telling The Truth About His Bogus Lawsuit Against Poarch Creeks

Luther Strange

When we last heard from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, he was lecturing Dothan reporter Rickey Stokes about the importance of honesty. In fact, Strange looked into a camera and said he had been raised to tell the truth, and Stokes' parents apparently did not teach that fundamental lesson. To the relief of many, Big Luther said he was praying for Stokes.

Based on a newspaper account of Strange's speech before an economic-development conference last week at Point Clear, the AG's parents might not have done as good a job as he thinks in the truth-telling department. That's because Strange's own words show he can't even be honest with himself.

Consider Strange's statements at the Economic Development Association of Alabama's summer conference in Point Clear. The subject of electronic bingo came up, which is not a surprise considering Strange's long-running crusade against VictoryLand, Center Stage, and other non-Indian gaming facilities in Alabama. Here is how al.com's Michael Tomberlin reported Strange's comments, from a section of the article that was available only in the print edition:

When asked why Indian casinos seem to operate with impunity, Strange said technically they fall outside his jurisdiction.

"Indian tribes are in a different category because they are a sovereign territory," he said, but added that it is his duty to ensure the law is applied evenly throughout the state.

Why did Strange file a lawsuit seeking to shut down Poarch Creek casinos when he admits that he has no authority over the tribal facilities? Actually, the Point Clear speech was not the first time Strange has admitted the Poarch Creek lawsuit is bogus. We addressed that in a March 25, 2013, post titled "Recent Letter Shows That Even AG Luther Strange Knows His Lawsuit Against Poarch Creeks Is A Sham." From that post:

According to a new report from Bob Martin of the Montgomery Independent, Strange wrote to lawyers for VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor just before raiding and closing the facility last month. Here, in part, is what Strange said:

"You likely are aware of the situation with regard to Class 2 gambling on Indian land. Federal law governs those facilities, and I do not have jurisdiction to enforce federal or state laws against them."

So now, we have Strange admitting twice that he has no grounds for the lawsuit against the Poarch Creeks, but he is using taxpayer dollars to pursue it anyway.  Lawyers are subject to sanctions if they bring legal actions that they know are without merit.

A public official who takes unlawful actions because money or favors are being exchanged back stage--wasting tax dollars in the process--is subject to criminal prosecution.  Luther Strange's actions are emitting the foul odor of bribery, conspiracy, mail/wire fraud, honest services fraud, and perhaps other federal crimes.

The situation with Luther Strange becomes even more alarming when you realize his unlawful actions are not limited to the Poarch Creeks. Any first-year law student should know that electronic bingo is legal under the Alabama Constitution in Macon and Houston counties, and the Constitution trumps state statute, meaning Strange's raids there are not supported by law. 

So we have an attorney general filing a sham lawsuit against the Poarch Creek tribe and conducting illegal raids against VictoryLand and Center Stage. A semi-serious investigation probably would show Luther Strange has an improper motive for taking these actions, and 
that would point to criminal activity.

Many Alabamians of good will disagree on the merits of gambling in our state--and many others don't care much, one way or another. But the fact that our chief law-enforcement officer might himself be a criminal . . . well, that should be a concern to all of us.

Penn State Leaders Face Trial On Sandusky Coverup As Ted Rollins Lurks With His History Of Child Abuse

Former Penn State President
Graham Spanier

A second criminal trial now is set in the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, and that brings at least two major questions to mind:

* Will the second trial prove the old adage that a coverup is worse than the original wrong?

* Will the area around Penn State come to grips with the fact that a corporate executive with a history as a child abuser has set up shop in the community, even as it continues to reel from the Sandusky fallout?

Ex Penn State president Graham Spanier and former administrators Gary Schultz and Tim Curley were ordered late Tuesday to stand trial on charges that they covered up their failure to tell police about an allegation that Sandusky molested a boy in a university locker room shower.

A district judge called it "a sad day for Penn State University," and a state prosecutor said the case is about "a conspiracy of silence." From a report at centredaily.com:

Perhaps the strongest pieces of evidence were email exchanges between Curley, Schultz and Spanier regarding the Sandusky shower incidents in May 1998 and February 2001. The prosecution offered testimony from whistle-blower Mike McQueary, a former university police chief and other employees. 

Here is how Huffington Post summarized the criminal charges against the three former Penn State administrators:

The three were charged with perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children, failure to properly report suspected abuse and conspiracy. Those charges include allegations of hiding evidence from investigators and lying to the grand jury.

How stressful has the Sandusky saga been on residents of State College, Pennsylvania? Testimony at this week's preliminary hearing showed that Spanier tried desperately to quit after the Sandusky allegations became public--but the board of trustees fired him first.

On top of that, news reports indicate almost anyone associated with Penn State is subject to background checks, as part of the university's efforts to avoid such scandals in the future. One report stated that more than 21,000 individuals have undergone such checks, with some losing their jobs for relatively minor infractions that happened years ago.

It's ironic, then, that Penn State has welcomed Campus Crest Communities, a private developer of student housing at more than 40 sites around the country. The company is set to open The Grove at State College this month, and it has purchased Copper Beech Townhome Communities, which is based in State College and was founded by Penn State donors Jack and Jeannette McWhirter.

Ted Rollins (right) and
Jack McWhirter at Penn State

What is ironic about that? Ted Rollins, Campus Crest's CEO and a central figure in the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case here in Alabama, has a documented history as a child abuser--and yet he is setting up shop in a community that still is reeling from perhaps the most notorious child abuse case in American history.

Public records show that Rollins was convicted for assault on his 16-year-old stepson in Franklin County, North Carolina. (See documents at the end of this post.) He also was investigated for child sexual abuse, based on a complaint from an anonymous citizen.

That presents disturbing parallels to the Jerry Sandusky story, as we pointed out in a recent post:

The bottom line? A state investigation in North Carolina led to no action against Ted Rollins. No steps were taken to protect his apparent victim.

Residents of State College, PA, and supporters of Penn State should be familiar with that kind of story. Jerry Sandusky first was investigated for inappropriate conduct with a child in 1998, but nothing came of it. More than 13 years passed, with an untold number of additional victims, before Sandusky finally was held accountable.

The search for peace at Penn State continues in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It appears the community is not likely to find it anytime soon.

Ted Rollins Arrested for Assault by Roger Shuler

Ted Rollins Convicted of Assault by Roger Shuler

Judge Dorothea Batiste Achieves A "Modest Victory" With Three-Month Suspension In Disciplinary Trial

Dorothea Batiste

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Dorothea Batiste has received a three-month suspension from the bench at the conclusion of a three-day disciplinary trial in Montgomery, an outcome her attorneys called a "modest victory."

The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (AJIC) charged Batiste with making improper use of her contempt powers in domestic-relations cases, and she faced possible removal from the bench. But the Court of Judiciary ruled yesterday  afternoon that Batiste should be suspended from the bench for three months.

"The court did find that she violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics, but they gave her far less punishment than what the JIC had argued for," Batiste's lawyer Julian McPhillips said. "The best they had offered us was a 10-month suspension, and she got three months and a reprimand, with no censure.

"We consider it at least a modest victory, against all odds--on a very uneven playing field."

Retired Presiding Judge J. Scott Vowell led the effort to file complaints against Batiste, and her lawyers argued that she was the victim of a vindictive prosecution because of Vowell's anger that she had filed a complaint against him with the Alabama Attorney General's Office.

We reported yesterday that the case against Batiste was driven largely by her decision to do away with a special masters program in her court. That decision proved to be highly unpopular with a number of domestic-relations lawyers who are close to Vowell.

JIC prosecutor Griffin Sikes argued yesterday that Batiste had deprived parties of due process because she had not given them notice or hearings in which they could defend themselves for failing to appear in court. From a report at al.com:

In its opinion this afternoon, the court agreed Batiste had violated due process. "Judge Batiste, the court finds that your conduct has demonstrated a cavalier disregard for the due-process rights of litigants and witnesses guaranteed by both the United States and Alabama constitutions," according to the court's ruling read by J. Michael Joiner, a member of the state criminal court of appeals who also sits as chief judge on the court of the judiciary. "Due process is one of our most basic rights and we find that the violations of these rights, as demonstrated by the evidence presented in this case, are serious."

Batiste's lawyers, however, said the court must have recognized that any improper rulings by Batiste were mild compared to flagrantly unlawful contempt findings issued by other Alabama judges.

One case that was raised in court documents involved Clanton resident Bonnie Cahalane, who was jailed for five months last year by Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds--even though black-letter Alabama law says a party cannot be subject to contempt and incarceration due to an alleged debt from dissolution of a marriage. Also, Cahalane's house has been ordered sold, even though the alleged sales agreement was reached with her under the duress of returning to jail, meaning the contract is void.