Video Provides Evidence That Deputy In Shelby County Conducted A Fraudulent Traffic Stop Against Blogger

Shelby Co. Sheriff Chris Curry

A video produces evidence that a sheriff's deputy in Shelby County, Alabama, conducted a phony traffic stop in order to serve court papers on me, in the wake of our reporting here at Legal Schnauzer about photos of U.S. Judge Bill Pryor that appeared at a gay porn site in the 1990s.

As I reported yesterday, Lt. Mike DeHart stopped my wife and me as we parked on Sunday afternoon at the North Shelby County Library. DeHart claimed I had rolled through a stop sign while making a left-hand turn at the intersection of MacIan Lane and Keith Drive in the Broken Bow South neighborhood, where we have lived for 23 years.

I immediately informed DeHart that he was mistaken, but he took my license and registration and retreated to his patrol vehicle. When DeHart returned, he presented me with a warning for the "rolling stop" and then handed me some court papers, saying, "Mr. Shuler, you've been served."

When I quickly realized that I had been the victim of an unlawful traffic stop, I confronted DeHart and called him a "fraud" and a number of other choice words. We nearly got into a physical altercation, and he threatened to arrest me before my wife spoke in a tone of voice that made it clear DeHart was going to have to deal with her.  A false move at that point likely would have put DeHart's career at risk--especially when it was clear he had no lawful grounds to stop us, and we were about to enter the veritable den of sin that is the North Shelby Library. 

Rational thought seemed to enter DeHart's reptilian brain for just an instant, enough for him to return to his vehicle while we drove away and tossed the legal papers out our car window for him to clean up. (I despise littering, and certainly don't advocate it under remotely normal circumstances. But in this situation, I felt DeHart deserved a giant "up yours," and that's what the fluttering papers were designed to give him.)

Amidst the fracas, I wasn't even sure what the court papers were about, although we had a few of them still in the car when we got home. They involved a defamation lawsuit filed by Rob Riley, the son of former GOP governor Bob Riley.

What about the video? You can check it out at the end of this post, but here are a few key elements it reveals.

* The intersection where I supposedly rolled through a stop sign features fairly heavy traffic because it is less than 100 yards from the only entrance/exit to a neighborhood that includes probably 150 houses. Any driver approaching the intersection needs to be aware that he will be dealing with vehicles heading toward, and away from, heavily traveled Alabama 119.

* The intersection features a heavily obstructed view for anyone planning to turn left. As a driver approaches the stop sign, his view to the left is blocked by rows of trees, shrubbery, bushes, and other vegetation. Only when you pull even with the stop sign, do you have a clear view to see if it's safe to pull out. Any driver who likes the thought of serious injury or possible death certainly can roll through the stop sign while turning left. But a rational, coherent driver is extremely unlikely to do it--and I sure as hell didn't do it.

* DeHart claimed that he saw me roll through the stop sign while he was parked at the intersection of Keith Drive and Little Turtle Drive, which probably is more than 200 yards up a hill from where I was. A number of trees and bushes block the view from where DeHart supposedly was, and the stop sign in question isn't even visible.

I know that I did not roll through the stop sign on Sunday, and I know that Officer DeHart is a glorified liar and thug who violated our civil rights and committed any number of civil-law torts by detaining us without probable cause.

You are invited to view the following video and come to your own conclusions. 

Concerns About Blackmail Prompted Investigative Action On Tip About Gay Porn Photographs of Bill Pryor In '90s

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Alabama Sheriff's Department Resorts To Fake Traffic Stop To Harass Blogger For Posts About Bill Pryor and Gay Porn

Shelby Co. Sheriff Chris Curry

A Shelby County deputy on Sunday afternoon conducted a bogus traffic stop in the latest example of harassment my wife and I have encountered since I began reporting on U.S. Judge Bill Pryor and his ties to 1990s gay porn.

The incident almost ended with a physical confrontation between me and Lt. Mike DeHart, after I called the officer a "fraud"--plus a few other choice words--and he threatened me with arrest. I'm not sure what would have happened if my wife (we call her Mrs. Schnauzer here) had not been with me and made it clear that Officer DeHart was going to have to physically deal with her if he took his bullheadedness any further. It appeared that DeHart saw his career flash before his eyes--suddenly becoming conscious of how bad it would look to physically confront a woman in the parking lot of a public library--and thought better of what he was doing.

(For details about the incident, check out the video at the end of this post.)

All of this, it seems, was the culmination of a week that saw multiple visits every day to our home from sheriff's deputies--always in groups of two or three, with at least two vehicles--resulting in banging on our door, yelling on our doorstep, and trips to the back of our house. On one night-time visit, deputies shined lights into our windows. 

As I stated in a number of posts (see here and here), the show of force made it appear to us that deputies were setting me up for a bogus arrest or a groundless search of our home, with the likely intention of seizing our computer. Long-time readers know that Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry orchestrated an unlawful "sale" of our house on the courthouse steps in 2008, just a few days before I officially got cheated out of my job at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). (See second video at the end of this post.)

To be sure, that kind of experience does not engender a spirit of trust when deputies come pounding on our door, and that's why we were in no hurry to answer to a throng of officers who appeared to wish us harm.

What were they really up to? We learned Sunday, courtesy of Officer DeHart, that the plan all along apparently was to serve me with legal papers. But evidence strongly suggests that the persistent harassment, the phony traffic stop, even the legal papers themselves, are part of the fallout from my reporting on the Pryor gay-porn story.

Here is a short version of what happened Sunday: At the intersection of MacIan Lane and Keith Drive, I turned left to head toward the exit from our neighborhood. We drove about a mile to the North Shelby County Library, where we intended to partake of the many dangerous activities therein. As we parked and prepared to leave our car, we looked behind us to see a sheriff's vehicle, blocking the way, with lights flashing. 

When I inquired as to what was going on, an officer told me to get back in the car. He then approached and claimed he witnessed me roll through the stop sign at MacIan and Keith. I immediately told him that I did no such thing. It's a one-way stop, where I was turning left and had to check for traffic coming from both directions. We've lived in Broken Bow South for 23 years, and we know that Keith Drive is the most heavily trafficked street in our neighborhood, and this stop sign is just a few yards from the busy Alabama Highway 119. 

Even a careless driver doesn't roll through a stop sign like that--and I sure as heck don't. I knew immediately the officer was lying.

He took my license and registration to his vehicle, and I noticed him returning with a stack of papers. He handed me a warning notice for the "rolling stop" and then gave me the papers, saying, "Mr. Shuler, you've been served."

I'm used to seeing thuggish behavior from lawyers, judges, sheriff's, and just about anyone connected to American law enforcement. But even I was taken aback by this show of audacity. The guy actually conducted a bogus traffic stop in order to serve me with legal papers, apparently from a lawsuit filed by Republican political figure Rob Riley.

Like most citizens (I think) in such a situation, I was fuming. I called the officer a "fraud" and a few other choice words I didn't learn in Sunday school. I asked for his name and basically told him he was a liar and a cheat and he could stick his papers in an indelicate place.

DeHart ordered me to get up against our car, and in so many words, I told him to go to hell. I got back into our vehicle, and he grabbed my arm and also the door, keeping it from closing. He was reaching for his handcuffs when Mrs. Schnauzer made it clear she was about to pounce.

My wife is one of the sweetest, most good-natured people in the world. But she has a Serbian temper that surfaces under certain conditions--and this was one of those conditions. 

Given that Officer DeHart had already trashed our federal civil rights and probably committed any number of state-law torts--maybe even crimes--he apparently realized that adding a physical confrontation with my wife was not going to make his professional career path any smoother. 

He backed off and returned to his vehicle, we pulled away and threw his f-----g papers out the window. I don't normally condone littering, but in this case, I felt it was warranted--given that DeHart started the whole affair by acting in a fraudulent manner. We later returned to the library, and the papers were gone, so we are hopeful that DeHart and his fat ass had to clean them up.

Pryor and Rob Riley (the son of former governor Bob Riley) are part of the Republican sleaze machine that has turned Alabama into one of America's most corrupt states. The Pryor story is about much more than titillating photos. It's about a corrupt "public servant" who has become a GOP fixer in the federal courts--an ethically compromised "jurist" who vaulted to power precisely BECAUSE of the known gay porn in his background.

We will explain that in a series of upcoming posts. But for now, Rob Riley's lawsuit seems to explain the hordes of deputies on our property in recent days--plus one deputy who considered it his public duty to conduct a fraudulent traffic stop.

Sheriff Targets Blogger Who Broke Bill Pryor Gay Porn Story In County That Led Charge to Gut Voting Rights Act

Judge Bill Pryor

Shelby County, Alabama, played a central role in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that overturned a key provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 

Chief Justice John Roberts, in authoring the opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, said our country has changed, implying that places like Shelby County are much more enlightened now than they were in 1965. 

That might be true, to an extent. But anyone who thinks Shelby County is a bastion of forward thinking--where people of all colors, religions, genders, and political affiliations are treated fairly and equally under the law--might want to view the video at the end of this post.

It was filmed during one of at least four visits that sheriff's deputies made to my home in Shelby County last week. Why are deputies suddenly so interested in the house that my wife and I have owned since 1990. As I reported on Friday, I can think of no legitimate law-enforcement purpose for the visit. And why are two and three deputies involved, with multiple vehicles?

I can only conclude, at this point, that it's part of an intimidation and harassment campaign driven by my recent reports here at Legal Schnauzer about photos of U.S. Judge Bill Pryor that appeared in the 1990s at a gay porn site called badpuppy.com.

The intimidation campaign drew the attention of the national press this weekend when Alan Colmes' Liberland blog wrote a piece titled, "Is A Whistleblowing Alabama Blogger Being Harassed by Law Enforcement?" From the article:

Roger Shuler’s blog Legal Schnauzer has not shied away from turning over a few rocks to reveal scandal in Alabama’s political and judicial arenas. He recently revealed what his sources confirm to be a photograph of 11th Circuit Court Justice William Pryor that had been posted to gay porn site badpuppy.com — and the story has gone viral (as have not one but two provocative follow-ups). In what seems to be a bit more than coincidence, Shuler had several unexpected visitors earlier this week that may be tied to a different bit of darkness upon which he shed a bit too much sunshine for a couple GOP players’ taste.

The Colmes blog notes the thuggish appearance of the deputies' actions, which were caught on video in Friday's post--and again at the end of this post:

Yes, the multiple vehicle schtick is overkill. It’s not much of a stretch to conclude that Shuler, a legal blogger with a growing following, is being harassed by people who are none too happy with his reporting — but also neither smart nor savvy when it comes to the power of the Internet and social media.

As for Shelby County v. Holder, it focused primarily on America's historic racial divide. But the VRA is part of an almost 50-year effort to ensure civil rights for all Americans, especially those who might seem different for any number of reasons.

Consider your humble blogger. I am a white, male Protestant with no disabilities, so I would seem to fit into the mainstream. But I also am a liberal in a county that is overwhelmingly conservative--in a state that has largely been taken over by one-party Republican rule. 

To make me even more of an oddball here, I am a journalist, with a degree in the field and more than 30 years of professional experience. That proved useful when my wife and I experienced a colossal cheat job in Shelby County court--started when a neighbor with an extensive criminal record filed a bogus lawsuit against me over a property-related matter--and that inspired me to start a blog about legal and political corruption.

How did that go over with the Shelby Count power structure, which has been dominated for years by members of the GOP? Not too well, especially when I went beyond personal issues to report on political prosecutions during the George W. Bush years, such as the ones involving former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former Mississippi plaintiffs' lawyer Paul Minor.

Conservative forces were not just angry about Legal Schnauzer; they decided to make me pay, by cheating me out of my job at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where I had worked as an editor for almost 20 years. That was in May 2008, and the same forces (or their associates) cheated my wife out of her job at Infinity Insurance in September 2009.

How do I know political and legal entities were behind this? For one reason, a member of UAB's human-resources staff admitted to me in a tape recorded conversation that I was targeted because of my reporting on the Siegelman case. (You can check out a video on that subject here.)

Now, I seem to have committed another sin against conservative orthodoxy by revealing that Bill Pryor, he of the uber right-wing views and the controversial Bush-era nomination,  
has connections to the gay porn scene of the 1990s.

I have reported extensively on corruption in the Shelby County Sheriff's Department under Chris Curry. In fact, Curry's band of rogues is largely responsible for a bogus sheriff's deed that has been our house since 2008. (You can check out videos of the sheriff's sale here.) 

Experience has taught me that Sheriff Curry and his crew are lawless thugs. And I'm not the only one who seems to hold that opinion. We are aware of several federal lawsuits that allege racial discrimination against the department during Curry's tenure. We will be reporting on those cases in a series of upcoming posts.

Is Shelby County a uniformly awful place? Not at all--or Mrs. Schnauzer and I would  not have lived here for 23 years. Here is what I wrote about my home area back in June, after the Roberts court issues its ruling on the VRA case:

What kind of place is Shelby County, Alabama, in 2013? And in terms of justice issues (such as voting), should the public be confident the rule of law will prevail in this burgeoning area south of Birmingham?

As a resident of Shelby County since 1990, I feel qualified to take a crack at those questions. What are my answers? Well, Shelby County is a prosperous, pretty place that features lots of gorgeous trees, mountains, and bodies of water--I can throw a rock from my backyard and almost hit the natural splendor of Oak Mountain State Park. The county, especially in the northern section closest to Birmingham, features numerous fine places to shop and dine, with some of the most attractive neighborhoods you will find anywhere.

But what about those pesky justice issues? In that regard, Shelby County is a cesspool. The county seat is in a little hellhole called Columbiana, and when you take one step into the city limits, it's as if you've entered a time warp and gone back to . . . oh, about 1912.

Like most Americans, I am thankful for the genuine progress our country has made since the VRA was passed almost 50 years ago. But are we really out of the woods on matters of discrimination? Should we be confident that the rule of law will protect civil rights for all? Are local law-enforcement agencies filled with enlightened protectors of the constitution--or glorified brown shirts?

We invite you to take a look at the following video, filmed last Thursday, and decide for yourselves:

Dothan Blogger Rickey Stokes Admits He Fell Victim To Bill Baxley Con Job On Luther Strange/Jessica Garrison Affair

An Alabama blogger admits in an online forum that Birmingham attorney Bill Baxley hoodwinked him about our coverage of an extramarital affair involving Attorney General Luther Strange and former campaign aide Jessica Medeiros Garrison.

Rickey Stokes, editor of Dothan-based RickeyStokesNews.com (RSN), writes in a post dated August 17 that our reports at Legal Schnauzer on the Strange/Garrison affair are "highly questionable." Stokes said he reached that conclusion after conversations with two sources, one of whom Stokes said he "would trust with my life in his hands."

We noted in a post dated August 21 that Stokes likely fell victim to a Bill Baxley con job. What was the con? We stated that Baxley, a member of a prominent Dothan family, probably was the source for Stokes' post. We further stated that Baxley probably did not disclose that he represented Jessica Garrison and had sent two letters to me threatening a lawsuit on her behalf.

In a comment posted to wiregrasslive.com at 1:48 p.m. on September 1, Stokes confirms that our suspicions were right on target: Bill Baxley was the source of his post claiming our reporting was "highly questionable"--and Baxley did not disclose his personal stake in the matter, via his threatened lawsuit on Jessica Garrison's behalf. (See the full Stokes comment at the end of this post.)

Translation: Bill Baxley blew copious amounts of smoke up Rickey Stokes' anal cavity--and Stokes fell for it.

To my knowledge, Stokes is yet to print a retraction of a story that originated with a self-serving, ill-informed source. But Stokes did pipe up when a number of commenters at wiregrasslive.com questioned his reporting on the Strange/Garrison affair. Stokes provided background on how his post took life, and here is part of that explanation, with no editing on my part:

I have not read each post on this topic or Legal Schnauzer. I have read some of them. And yes as Catfish said I am at the lake. In fact I am sitting at boat ramp where I just unloaded my son and his friends into the river for them to take a river run towards Columbia.

As to the Dothan Baxley family contacting me about the article, the answer is NO. As to Bill Baxley and I having a telephone conversation over this matter, yes. My entire adult life I have known Bill and Wade Baxley. I started in 1977, just prior to my starting Baxley had been the District Attorney in Houston and Henry County. At the time, the political party you run on was Democrat, and Wade Baxley was Chairman of the Democractic Party in Houston County. Wade was also on the Houston County Personnel Board when I went to the and got a Cadet Deputy Sheriff Program started where you could get paid to work. I was a dispatcher with the Sheriff Department after school, worked 3 PM to 11 PM and was paid. So I have known them for years. My wife growing up lived next door to Bill and Lucy Baxley.

That relationship is what resulted in the phone call. And yes, after a conversation with Bill explaining some things to me, not that he was filing a lawsuit against anyone, but answering some questions, resulted in my article.

Another translation:  When Baxley felt the need to discredit a journalist--in a case where the journalist's reporting is absolutely on target--he turned to a blogger from his hometown. Baxley probably figured that blogger would accept most everything he said at face value--and Stokes proved that Baxley was correct.

Bloggers are not real fond of admitting they were wrong--and they are even less fond of admitting they were conned. So I am not surprised that Rickey Stokes has failed to retract his bogus story. I'm guessing that Stokes feels chastened by the turn of events, and that seems apparent in his rambling, roundabout comment at wiregrasslive.com.

The bigger issue, in my view, involves the actions of Bill Baxley, who is a member of the bar and an "officer of the court." Let's consider a few questions that grow out of Baxley's behavior:

* If Baxley truly believes Jessica Garrison had no affair with Luther Strange, why was he deceptive about his connections to Ms. Garrison? Stokes makes it clear that Baxley did not tell him about his participation in a threatened lawsuit. This is less clear, but it appears that Baxley did not disclose to Stokes that he represented Garrison. We now know, for sure, that Bill Baxley was not fully up front with a blogger from his hometown. Why?

* If Baxley truly believes Jessica Garrison had no affair with Luther Strange, why did he not present Ms. Garrison for Stokes to interview? As a lawyer, political operative and former campaign manager, Jessica Garrison certainly has a voice. She has put herself in the public arena and made herself a statewide figure--and she is somewhat of a national figure via her role in the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA). Baxley could have said, "Hey Rickey, meet Jessica--and she would be glad to answer any questions you might have about her relationship with Luther Strange." Why didn't that happen?

* Baxley has leveled charges of defamation against me, but what about his own actions? What about Jessica Garrison's liability if she authorized Baxley's conversation with Rickey Stokes? What about Rickey Stokes' liability?

We don't know for sure what was said in the Baxley/Stokes discussion, but that can be revealed in the litigation process. It seems apparent, however, that Baxley claimed my reporting was inaccurate, unprofessional, and driven by malicious intent. Baxley did this while hiding some, or all, of his connection to Jessica Garrison. Stokes proceeded to write that it was "unfair" for me to "make up something that is not true."

What kind of liability might Mr. Baxley, Ms. Garrison, and Mr. Stokes have toward a journalist they have defamed?

Rickey Stokes Comment by Roger Shuler

Law Enforcement Pays Multiple Visits To Blogger's House Following Reports About Judge Bill Pryor and Gay Porn

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Bill Upton, President Of Vulcan Steel Products in Pelham, Admits To Affair With Woman Who Called Him "Daddy"

Bill Upton, of Vulcan Steel Products

The president of an Alabama steel company had an extramarital affair with a young woman he and his wife had raised as their daughter, according to court records in Jefferson County.

William D. "Bill" Upton Jr. is president of Vulcan Steel Products, which is based in the Birmingham suburb of Pelham. Upton sued his wife, Linda S. Upton, for divorce in 2010 and received a stunningly favorable judgment, even though he admits in court papers to having an affair with a young woman who had called him "daddy" for years.

Bill Upton might not have technically committed incest, but his actions come close to meeting the description. When I contacted Upton yesterday and requested an interview, he said only that the Upton v. Upton case had been handled properly and quickly hung up.

Gincie Walker had grown up in an abusive home in Shelby County before settling into the Upton family when she was in her mid to late teens. Linda and Bill Upton have one biological son and had adopted or fostered a number of special-needs children over about a 20-year period. Court records state that Gincie Walker has multiple-personality disorder, and she was in her mid to late 20s when the affair with Bill Upton started; she now is in her early 30s.

The Uptons never officially adopted Walker, but they parented her throughout adolescence and well into early adulthood. Sources state that she was treated as, and seen as, the Uptons' daughter.

Court records describe Bill Upton as a multimllionaire, and the family home is in the exclusive Shook Hill Road section of Mountain Brook. In addition to his clout in the business community, Bill Upton also has ties to the conservative religious community. He once was a member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church and was active in the Pro-Life movement.

A review of public records indicate that Bill Upton's admitted affair with Gincie Walker was the precipitating event that broke up the Upton marriage. But Bill Upton initiated the divorce case, and despite flagrant marital misconduct. he received a largely favorable judgment in a Jefferson County domestic-relations court that has been riddled for years with what has come to be known as "hunting club corruption."

How bad was the outcome for Linda Upton? She lost custody of all her children. She is being forced to sell the marital residence on Shook Hill Road. She's had to sell a vacation home. Most of the maintenance and insurance expenses for the homes landed on her. She received little in marital assets, almost nothing from land and business assets that she and her parents had helped build and manage.

We have reported on a number of Alabama divorce cases that produced outlandish results, usually with wives and children coming away the "losers," with wealthy, connected husbands walking away as "winners." 

That certainly was the case in Rollins v. Rollins, where Birmingham resident Sherry Carroll Rollins and her two daughters wound up on food stamps because of an unlawful judgment from Shelby County Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson. The husband in that case, Campus Crest Communities CEO Ted Rollins, comes from one of the wealthiest families in the country (the folks behind Orkin Pest Control) and owns multiple private jets. For good measure, his company has received some $800 million in Wall Street support. How much does Ted Rollins pay in child support for two children? It's $815 a  month, plus $500 in alimony.

It also was the case in Wyatt v. Wyatt, where Clanton resident Bonnie Cahalane wound up in jail for five months last year for failure to pay a property-related debt in a divorce case. Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds ordered Ms. Cahalane's imprisonment and also ordered the sale of her house--even though black-letter Alabama law forbids both actions. Harold Wyatt, who was the opposing party, is not particularly wealthy. But Bonnie Cahalane's previous husband is Bobby Knox, president of Shelby Concrete and one of the wealthier individuals in Chilton County. Did Bobby Knox help engineer a cheat job against his ex wife, out of spite, that caused her to land in jail--and to lose her home? Our reporting strongly suggests the answer is yes.

Upton v. Upton is disturbing on multiple levels. The case originally was assigned to Judge Dorothea Batiste, but attorneys from both sides agreed to have it heard by a private judge. Gary Pate, who was retired at the time from the Jefferson County bench, issued the  judgment in one of the first cases heard under the Alabama Private Judge Act, passed in 2012. Scott Vowell, then presiding judge in Jefferson County, signed off on moving the case to Pate--and Vowell later led the charge to file complaints against Batiste, resulting in her three-month suspension from the bench.

In another oddity, the case file was sealed, without Linda Upton's knowledge or consent. In fact, at one point, Upton v. Upton disappeared from public files altogether, with no record that it had even taken place. The case currently is on appeal before the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.

I've described the facts and the outcome of Upton to several individuals who are familiar with Alabama divorce law. The response has been an across-the-board expression of disbelief.

We long have described Rollins v. Rollins as the most flagrant cheat job we've encountered in a civil court case. It looks like Upton v. Upton might turn that into a close race.


(To be continued)

Welcome To The New Look Of Legal Schnauzer

This is a time of transition for our little blogging venture. Just last week, we added a donate button at the top of the blog, where readers can provide financial support for our reporting efforts. We recently received an invitation to join an ad network for progressive blogs, and we plan to dive in headfirst. This all comes on the heels of our inclusion in Cisions's 2012 ranking of the "Top 50 Independent Law Blogs in North America."

A major part of our renovation is the adoption of an updated look for Legal Schnauzer. This is our first day to try it out, and we hope you like it. We've used the same blogging template from day one, so we were overdue for an upgrade.

I picked the original template, in part, because . . . well, this might sound stupid, but because it was not terribly attractive. The goal was to have the focus on reporting about serious matters of legal corruption, so I didn't really want a slick design. I wanted to be rather stark and plain.

The old template certainly fit that bill, but it long has outlived its usefulness. Aside from being drab, the old format was inflexible, making poor use of space and not allowing for important elements like advertising.

Our new format is cleaner and more inviting, without being showy. I'm still learning how to tool around in the new template, so I've been a bit slow today on tasks like moderation of comments. In fact, it's possible that I might need to disable comments temporarily while I get used to driving my sporty new template. (By the way, that would be a cool name for a sports car, "The Template.")

We ask for your patience in the next few days if comment moderation seems unusually slow--or if the comments go away altogether for a while. We don't plan for any interruption to last long.

It's heartening to know that we have a devoted group of readers who value aggressive reporting on the corruption that ails our democracy--in Alabama and many other states. Our goal is to make Legal Schnauzer an even more valuable part of your reading endeavors. 

As always, thanks for your support and for welcoming LS into your lives. We welcome your comments about the new look and other renovations at the blog.
  

Could Gay Pornography Photos From College Days Lead To Indictment For Federal Judge Bill Pryor?

A scandal about gay-porn photos of U.S. Circuit Judge Bill Pryor could lead to the judge's indictment if it is proven that he falsified background documents during is Congressional confirmation, a prominent legal blog reports.

South Florida Lawyers (SFL), which is an ABA Journal Top 100 law blog, makes that assessment in an article that was posted Monday. We broke the Pryor story last Tuesday here at Legal Schnauzer, and it has been picked up by an array of Web sites that focus on everything from law to politics to gay rights to style/culture. The story has brought national attention to badpuppy.com, the Cocoa, Florida-based Web site where the Pryor photos appeared in 1997.

Judge Pryor surely will be comforted to learn that he now is featured at Gay Porn Times, in a post titled "Antigay Federal Judge in a Nudie-Cutie Scandal?"

The judge's discomfort might take a different turn down the line. Drawing on an article from instinctmagazine.com ("Homophobic Federal Judge's Gay Porn Past Exposed?), SFL writes:

The Alabama Bureau of Investigations (ABI) is looking into images that appeared on then-popular gay porn site Badpuppy.com in the '90s. Reportedly working on a few tips, the ABI is concerned that the full-frontal images feature federal circuit Judge Bill Pryor. If the ABI confirms that the images are in fact those of the conservative Bush-appointee, there is a chance Pryor could be indicted for falsifying his background during his Congressional confirmation hearings. According to LegalSchnauzer, Congress commonly asks federal judicial appointees about "potentially embarrassing or compromising information in their backgrounds." Sources indicate that Pryor was aware the pics were public on the gay site (which was dubbed the "Wal Mart of gay porn") in 1997, a few years ahead of his appointment.

SFL apparently is written by one or more gay lawyers, and the Pryor photos are not breaking news to them:

Funny thing, aficionado of the male form that I am I remember seeing these pics when they first came out. They were featured quite prominently in Bad Puppy's promotions. Judge Pryor is denying that these are actual pictures of him and while they seem to be the same guy I wasn't there so I couldn't tell you for sure.

SFL touts itself as "a law blog done with jealousy, love, snark, humor and civility." That slightly campy approach is apparent in the introduction to the blog's Pryor story:

Here's a little story that peaked my interest over the weekend, and I do mean peaked. It's the story of a struggling, broke college student trying to deal with the high cost of tuition, books, and housing expenses by earning a little honest money on the side. What the heck is wrong with that? Nothing if you ask me. But this youthful indiscretion is raising eyebrows, not so much for the "act" but for who this young man grew up to be.

The young man, of course, grew up to be a federal judge, one with strongly anti-gay views. That's where the SFL post turns serious:

But what I find striking about this story is that the scandal over the Judge's morality is centered around his possible youthful modeling career and not the bigoted, hateful positions and actions that he's taken as an adult "member"of the judiciary. I couldn't care less who he showed his body to. What I care about is that he would deny people like me equal protection under the law.

That's immoral.

Everybody deserves to be treated equally; gays, lesbians, bisexuals, the transgendered and judges who exposed their private parts for fast cash! For not understanding that simple fact, Judge Pryor you are one bad, bad puppy.

What Is the Real Reason For Apparent Legal Action From Jessica Medeiros Garrison And Bill Baxley?

Bill Baxley

According to a report at Alabama Political Reporter (APR), Republican operative Jessica Medeiros Garrison has filed a lawsuit against me, claiming that my reports on her extramarital affair with Attorney General Luther Strange are false and defamatory. APR reports that Birmingham attorney Bill Baxley filed a complaint on Garrison's behalf, and I have reported here on two threatening letters I've received from Baxley.

I haven't seen the alleged complaint, and I haven't been served with a copy, so I don't know if APR has its facts straight or not. But I do know this: If Jessica Garrison has filed a lawsuit against me, with Bill Baxley's assistance, it probably has nothing to do with my reporting on the Luther Strange affair.

What's the real reason that Jessica Garrison is threatening and/or taking legal action against me? Here are three distinct possibilities:

(1) I have been investigating the curious circumstances under which she purchased a foreclosed property in Mountain Brook, which had been appraised at almost $440,000, and she wants to stop that;

(2) I have reported on, and I continue to investigate, her business relationship with a man named Erik Davis Harp, who was indicted in 2009 as a kingpin in an illegal sports-betting operation that had servers in Panama and generated $20 million a month. Leaders of the gambling ring reportedly had ties to the Gambino and Genovese crime families, and Garrison wants to stop my reporting on that;

(3) I have been investigating massive corruption in central Alabama courts, and my reporting at the moment focuses on a prominent judicial figure in Jefferson County. This married judicial figure reportedly has what might be called an "unconventional relationship" with an executive at an "old money" Birmingham investment firm, one that has operated in these parts for more than a century. I interviewed the investment executive on August 15 about his relationship with the judicial figure. Two days later, I received a threatening letter from Bill Baxley.

What does all of this mean? Well, let's focus first on what we know: We've already shown that I contacted Garrison via e-mail on July 12, requesting an interview about her relationship with Luther Strange. I gave Garrison five days to respond, and when she didn't, I proceeded to write my first post on the matter, dated July 17. From that date until August 13, I wrote six posts about the Luther Strange affair--and I never heard a word from Jessica Garrison.

Jessica Medeiros Garrison

What does that tell you about Ms. Garrison and her lawyer, Bill Baxley? It tells me that they know my reporting on the Luther Strange affair is true, and they didn't want to kick a hornet's nest by threatening a bogus lawsuit against me.

That strategy apparently changed on August 14, when I sent a second e-mail to Jessica Garrison, raising the issues noted in Nos. 1 and 2 above. Two days later, I heard from Ms. Garrison for the first time, via a threatening letter from Bill Baxley.

So, what do we have here? I wrote six posts about the Luther Strange affair, over a roughly one-month period of time, and never heard a peep from Jessica Garrison. I asked a few questions about her house transaction and her business ties to Erik Davis Harp and . . . presto, Bill Baxley is sending nasty missives to me, on Ms. Garrison's behalf.

What about item No. 3? Well, that is the most interesting possibility of all, the one to which I am paying the most attention. And get this: It doesn't involve Jessica Medeiros Garrison at all.

It does, however, involve Bill Baxley. Someone at the old-money investment firm noted earlier is very close to Mr. Baxley. And I have electronic documents suggesting that someone (or several someones) at the firm was extremely distressed about my interview with the executive. My electronic records show these individuals conducted extensive research on my major posts at the time, especially on reports about the Jessica Garrison/Luther Strange affair.

This all suggests that Bill Baxley is using Jessica Garrison as a "straw man" in an effort to stop my reporting on a corrupt Jefferson County judicial figure and an executive at a local investment firm. This further suggests that any lawsuit filed on Jessica Garrison's behalf probably has nothing to do with Ms. Garrison.

I will be sharing my electronic documents shortly. They suggest that Bill Baxley is conducting an elaborate legal hoax, apparently with Jessica Garrison's support and permission. It's the kind of scam that probably should get both of them disbarred.

We also soon will be learning much more about the investment executive and his close relationship with a major judicial figure in Jefferson County.


(To be continued)