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General News    H3'ed 11/23/10

Stench Grows Stronger Around Death-Penalty Case in Alabama

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Roger Shuler
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Now the same judge who butchered a relatively simple civil matter is probably going to wrongfully send a man to death row. This is a classic example of why we need to pay close attention to the kinds of people we entrust with the role of judge.

I've written in exhaustive detail on this blog about many of the unlawful rulings Joiner made in my case, apparently in an effort to favor his buddy, opposing counsel William E. Swatek. But I still get an occasional comment from a reader that goes something like this: "That the judge in your case is corrupt, or ruled unlawfully, is a matter of opinion. Just because you think it's so doesn't make it fact."

Actually, it is fact. Anyone who lives in Alabama, or is passing through, can stop at a courthouse, find a public computer and look up the case. It's Mike McGarity v. Roger Shuler, CV 00-1248  in Shelby County Circuit Court. (Anyone who has access to AlaCourt, can look up the case there.) If you know the relevant procedural law, you don't even have to read the case file to see much of the corruption; it's apparent just from checking the docket report.)

Joiner, by my conservative estimate, made 20 to 30 unlawful rulings in my case, all favoring Bill Swatek and his client, Mike McGarity. But I tend to focus on summary judgment because that's the most important issue, the one that would have brought the case to a lawful conclusion. And the indisputable record shows this:

The case had to be dismissed on so many grounds--eight to 10, at least--that I filed three motions for summary judgment (MSJ), each raising distinct issues of fact and law. On the first MSJ, McGarity filed a response, but he filed no timely evidence as required by law. He did file an affidavit--which did not dispute the fundamental facts and law at hand--but it was 10 days late and had to be stricken as a matter of law. Joiner denied summary judgment anyway.

On the second and third MSJs, McGarity filed no response at all--no affidavit, no evidence, nothing. That meant the evidence I filed, which was different from the evidence in the first MSJ, was uncontroverted. In such circumstances, Alabama law is clear: Summary judgment must be granted and the case dismissed. In fact, the law in all jurisdictions is clear: Such an MSJ simply cannot be denied, and it's a "nondiscretionary" ruling. It's about as clear and universal as law can get, like "three strikes and you're out" in baseball.

But Joiner could not get it right, and he denied all three MSJs. I could teach a seminar on all of the procedural, statutory, and case law that says this cannot be done. But here is the simplest way to understand it, straight from Alabama case law:

"When a party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment offers no evidence to contradict that presented by the movant, trial court MUST consider the movant's evidence uncontroverted, with no genuine issue of material fact existing." Voyager Guar. Ins. Co., Inc. v. Brown 631 So. 2d 848 (Ala., 1993).

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I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and work in higher education. I became interested in justice-related issues after experiencing gross judicial corruption in Alabama state courts. This corruption has a strong political component. The corrupt judges are (more...)
 
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