Courts

Bills could improve access to diversion programs, report notes high fees and roadblocks

Bills recently introduced in the Alabama House and Senate aim to improve access to specialized courts and diversion programs, meant to get people the help they need and keep them from behind bars. Even with more access to those programs and courts, however, many can’t afford the exorbitant fees to remain free, according to a … Continued

February 13, 2020

Andrew Brasher confirmed to 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm former Alabama Solicitor General Andrew Brasher to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Court. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, voted for Brasher’s confirmation; but Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, voted against. “Andrew Brasher’s confirmation to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh … Continued

February 12, 2020

Report: Cost to operate county jails, sheriff’s departments increased by $93 million since 2014

The Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) released an updated research publication yesterday showing that the cost to operate county jails and sheriff’s departments statewide increased by $93 million from 2014 to 2019. The research publication, named “Alabama’s Unresolved Inmate Crisis,” was updated from its initial release back in December to include data from … Continued

January 31, 2020

SPLC sues Montgomery County Board of Education for expulsion of two students after Lee High shooting

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a pair of lawsuits against the Montgomery County Board of Education, alleging that the district violated two students’ rights to due process before expelling them. The SPLC says two students were unjustly expelled after a shooting at Robert E. Lee High School in February 2019 where a 17-year-old … Continued

January 23, 2020

Hearing set to determine who is the real Alabama Democratic Party Chair

Tuesday, Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin scheduled a hearing for January 30 in the lawsuit over just who is the real chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. In 2018 Nancy Worley was re-elected as Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. That election was invalidated by the Democratic National Committee. In November a faction of the … Continued

January 9, 2020

Alabama Supreme Court sends ADP fight back to Montgomery

The fight for control of the Alabama Democratic Party is going back to Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Alabama Supreme Court on New Year’s Eve dismissed an appeal related to the jurisdiction of the case in which Nancy Worley, the former head of the Alabama Democratic Party, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop … Continued

January 3, 2020

Parole hearings this Week

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles announced in a statement to the press that it will hold parole hearings for twenty violent offenders this week. Among them one murderer, three sex offenders, and eight who were convicted of robbery. Deashton Luvoris Hayes is a two-time convicted robber. He was sentenced in 2010 to two … Continued

December 17, 2019

BCA announces 2020 judicial endorsements

The board of directors for ProgressPAC, the political action committee of the Business Council of Alabama, has endorsed five statewide judicial candidates who are running for election in 2020. The candidates are: – Greg Shaw, Supreme Court, Place 1 – Brad Mendheim, Supreme Court, Place 2 – Beth Kellum, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2 – Mary Windom, Court of … Continued

December 16, 2019

County commissioners report: 2015 prison reform led to less prisoners in prison but more in county jails

Wednesday, the Executive Director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama Sonny Brasfield told county commissioners that sentencing reform in 2015 has shifted more prisoners and the costs of those prisons from state prisons to county jails and county budgets. “I let you down,” Brasfield told the commissioners. In 2015, the state legislature passed … Continued

December 11, 2019

Shelby, Jones applaud Huffaker’s confirmation as U.S. district judge in Alabama

U.S. Senators Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Doug Jones, R-Ala., supported and today announced that Austin Huffaker of Montgomery, Alabama, has been confirmed by a Senate vote of 89-4 to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama. Huffaker was nominated for the federal judgeship by President Trump in July 2019. Following his … Continued

December 5, 2019