Courts

U.S. Attorney Jay Town announces resignation

Jay Town, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, on Friday announced his resignation and plans to work at a Huntsville defense contractor and cybersecurity solutions company. Town’s resignation will be effective Wednesday, July 15, according to a press release. “After much thoughtful prayer and great personal consideration, I have made the decision … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

July 10, 2020

Under cloak of secrecy, dark money nonprofit targets Birmingham law firm

From the beginning, Forbes's "BanBalch.com" website set out to tarnish the law firm by claiming to expose “unsettling controversies surrounding Balch & Bingham,” much of which stems from allegations, inference and speculation.

Bill Britt

July 8, 2020

Supreme Court sides with Alabama in COVID-19 voting case

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision Thursday blocked a federal district judge’s order that would have made it easier for many Alabamians to vote during the pandemic, issuing an emergency stay of the lower court’s injunction in People First of Alabama v. Merrill. The court’s more liberal justices dissented, while the five conservative … Continued

Brandon Moseley

July 3, 2020

Lawsuit claims governor ignored nomination process to appoint probate judge

A lawsuit filed Wednesday is challenging Gov. Kay Ivey’s appointment of Birmingham attorney James “Jim” Naftel II as Jefferson County probate judge place 1. The suit, filed the day Ivey announced the appointment, alleges she circumvented the Jefferson County Judicial Commission’s nominating process. She should have selected an appointee from a list of three nominees … Continued

Micah Danney

July 1, 2020

How qualified immunity affected an Alabama man shot five times during a police sting

Trinell King was driving his girlfriend’s car to give an acquaintance, Donavan Brown, a ride when a Warrior Police Department officer pulled him over because the car didn’t have a license plate. King, who is Black, didn’t have proof of insurance or a driver’s license that September day in 2015, but gave the officer a … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

June 30, 2020

Parole officers shot at in Bessemer

Thursday, two law enforcement officers from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles were fired upon as they approached a Bessemer home to conduct a supervisory visit with an offender. Officer in Charge Sidney Yarbrough and Officer Steven Motley, both assigned to the Bureau’s Bessemer Field Office, were not injured in the attack. Other parole … Continued

Brandon Moseley

June 22, 2020

“I’ve never felt the fear I felt then:” Demonstrators describe police action at Huntsville protest

Protesters gathered in Huntsville on Wednesday, first at an NAACP rally against police brutality, and later an unorganized protest downtown near the Madison County courthouse. The largely peaceful demonstrations ended when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who refused to disperse after a protest permit expired at 6:30 p.m. The Huntsville Police … Continued

Chip Brownlee

June 5, 2020

Alabama Parole and Probation Officers supervising nearly 9,000 violent criminals

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles released a report Thursday that was shared with state legislators and the media this week that shows Alabama’s 300 parole and probation officers are tasked with supervising 8,993 people convicted of violent crimes. The officers are tasked with supervising more than 27,000 Alabama offenders as well as more … Continued

Brandon Moseley

May 29, 2020

DOJ’s dropping of charges against Flynn may raise question in Siegelman case

Defenders of former Gov. Don Siegelman suggested that U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s dropping of federal charges against General Michael Flynn raises questions of the prosecution of Siegelman. Flynn, a retired Lt. General, was President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser. He was investigated under the Logan Act as part of the wider Russian collusion … Continued

Brandon Moseley

May 18, 2020

Gov. Kay Ivey extends public health emergency, issues COVID-19 lawsuit protections

Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday extended the formal “public health emergency” for 60 days, beginning May 13. Ivey also issued another proclamation that provides liability protection for businesses and health care providers from being sued over COVID-19 matters if those businesses and health care providers “comply with or reasonably attempt to comply with applicable public … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 8, 2020