If you are keeping score, that's a total of 10 guilty pleas to criminal charges in the Hayes case. We have no guilty pleas, and no criminal charges, in the Marshall case.
*A Matter of Sanctions--Even though she was not hit with any criminal charges, Marshall received a four-year suspension of her law license. The Hayes case generated 10 guilty pleas to criminal charges, and how did the Alabama State Bar handle that? Hayes and Roden received two-year suspensions, and Carter was suspended for 247 days. Again, if you are keeping track, here is how the scoreboard reads:
Kenya Lavender Marshall--0 guilty pleas equals four-year suspension
Hayes, Roden and Carter--10 guilty pleas equal suspensions of two years or less
*Insight on Investigations--Marshall's case started when a client, Orlandera Johnson Jr., filed a bar complaint in January 2010. (By the way, Johnson's father, Orlandera Johnson Sr., was a longtime police officer in the City of Homewood. Johnson Sr.was killed in a car crashnear Bessemer on January 5, 2010.) The Alabama State Bar announced a temporary suspension of Marshall's license on August 3. That means the investigation in Marshall's case took roughly eight months
What about the length of the investigation in the Hayes case? It started with a bar complaint in June 1994. That prompted a 13-month investigation that ended in July 1995. No action was taken for another 10 months. The bar finally filed formal disciplinary charges on May 15, 1996. Again, if you are keeping track, here is our scoreboard:
Kenya Lavender Marshall--Total elapsed time from filing of bar complaint to discipline: Eight months.
Hayes, Roden and Carter--Total elapsed time: Almost two years.
What conclusions can a reasonable person draw from this? Here is what we conclude:
* Kenya Lavender Marshall, a black female, had no criminal charges but received a suspension that is twice as long as three white male lawyers who had a combined 10 guilty pleas.
* Kenya Lavender Marshall, a black female, was punished in a time frame that was way less than half of that used in a case involving three white male lawyers.
* Why was Kenya Lavender Marshall, a black female, investigated and punished so quickly, compared to three white males charged in a similar case? Was it because she is black? Was it because she was running as a judge against a white candidate who had been appointed by Republican Governor Bob Riley, who is white? Was it because she soundly beat the white candidate, the one endorsed by the Jefferson County legal establishment, in a primary election? Was it because no Republican candidate qualified for the race, so Marshall had a clear path to being seated as a judge?
In our view, the answer to all four questions is yes. We don't see how a reasonable person could come to any other conclusion.
What to make of this? We thought it made sense to get Robert "Coach" Hayes' thoughts on the matter. After all, he knows what it's like to face charges similar to those leveled against Marshall. Since serving his two-year suspension, Hayes has been able to rebuild his legal career. He now is the chief partner in the Birmingham firm ofHayes Jackson Weaver and McKinney. When contacted at his office yesterday, Hayes said he did not want to comment on the Marshall case or the Alabama State Bar.
We have no qualms commenting about the Alabama State Bar. In our view, the evidence is overwhelming that it is a racist organization that is willing to be used as a political tool. Thanks to the veil of secrecy surrounding the Alabama State Bar, we don't know about the validity of the charges against Kenya Lavender Marshall. It's possible she deserved some form of punishment.
