Dear Friend,

The Associated Press reports that Judge Clay Land has denied former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's request to get out of prison for the holidays while he waits for his appeal in Atlanta in less than a month.

Judge land admitted that the Siegelman case raises "significant issues that deserve serious consideration," but does not think that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals will grant former Gov. Siegelman a new trial or a reduced sentence.

As a layperson, and friend of Siegelman, I will share with you my impressions of the hearing on the 15th and the recent decision by Judge Land.

Anita Darden
Volunteer
Friends of Siegelman

DON ENTERS THE COURTROOM

There was a twitter of conversation as people greeted old friends or other Siegelman supporters from across the country, some meeting face to face for the first time. Cautious hope abounded. Then a sober hush settled on the crowd as Don Siegelman was lead into the room, shackled wrist, ankle and waist. He looked bad in a grungy, red-orange jumpsuit, sporting a bed-head and a stubble of beard. (Someone needs to look into the treatment of ALL prisoners in the Montgomery prison system if they treat their former Governor like this!) After Don was seated he turned to look at the crowd of friends behind him and immediately every hand on his side of the gallery rose in a sea of greeting. From the back of the room I could not see his shackled hands, but I am told that he first blew a kiss to his wife, Lori.

JUDGE CLAY LAND ENTERS THE COURTROOM!

Then, Judge Clay Land entered the room. In a Piedmont Georgia accent, the new Georgia Judge stated that he wanted to use the time to ask questions for clarification and to decide whether he thought Siegelman might win his appeal, which would be his basis for releasing Siegelman.

The judge granted Siegelman's team a request to seat 2 legal assistants at the lawyers table. One of the legal assistants turned out to be Joseph Siegelman, who would now get to sit at the same table with his Dad. This might be the last time that Joseph will be this close to his Dad for a long time.

Then the judge refused to let Siegelman remove his wrist cuffs to take notes because the Government claimed that it was not standard procedure. (Seriously? The Montgomery Federal court always shackles non-violent white collar prisoners in court? What do they do to violent offenders?)

THE JUDGE BEGINS TO QUESTION THE PROSECUTION

The judge first began to question the Prosecutors, whom he called the Government. He was aggressive and relentless in his manner.

Judge Land showed concern for the poorly handled recusal of their lead prosecutor, Leura Canary. Did they believe that Leura Canary had a conflict of interest with Don Siegelman? How did they define conflict of interest? At what point did they think that conflict of interest became a reversible error vs. merely bad judgement?
Another issue the Judge explored was one of "structural error." If the 11th Circuit found structural error in Canary's recusal, the case would automatically be reversed and remanded for a new trial.

After Canary did finally claim to recuse herself from the Siegelman case, a whistleblower testified that Leura Canary secretly and passionately micro-managed the Siegelman Case. Judge Land asked why did the Prosecution disallow the customary discovery (an investigation) by the defense to take place when the whistle blower came forward with sworn testimony?

ROMANO RESPONDS

The prosecution's mostly indecipherable response was legaleze twisted around jargon. Romano, a Washington lawyer selected to represent the Government, claimed - as best I could decipher - that Canary had no real conflict of interest, because the Government had ruled so.

Judge Land posed a metaphor to help the struggling Romano define conflict of interest. Land asked the Prosecution if giving someone $10,000 for bringing a prosecution constituted a conflict of interest? Romano said, no, there was no legal precedent for defining a financial conflict of interest like the one described.

He said that she did finally recuse herself out of an "abundance of caution", though not out of a real conflict of interest. After her recusal, he stated that she performed only slight supervision concerning the Siegelman case. He considered that no structural error occurred, that Canary's behavior was legally "harmless."

Romano claimed that the prosecution refused to allow discovery of the whistleblower reports on Leura Canary's secret, continued involvement because a higher court decided that it was unnecessary, that the whistleblower was not credible. It was pointed out that the testimony of the two prosecutors who took over the Siegelman Case, from their boss, Leura Canary, was only appropriately involved with the case.

They claimed further that Siegelman would lose his appeal because Scrushy had lost his appeal and they stated that the Scrushy case was linked interchangeably with the Siegelman Case.

All in all, Romano's case seemed to rest squarely on the precedent of decisions made by other and higher offices and courts, legal definitions, and the power of the prosecution and judge to ignore or prevent discovery of evidence.

Apparently, legal and moral are not synonymous.

THE JUDGE BEGINS TO QUESTION THE DEFENSE

The Siegelman defense was represented by Greg Craig, also a lawyer from Washington D.C. The judge challenged Craig about two points.

The first point concerned the request to release Siegelman from prison until the hearing to take place a month later. The judge claimed that the Defense was making a request for release based on the legal proceedings for Siegelman taking from 6 to 16 months - did Greg Craig really think it would take that long?

The 2nd challenge the judge issued to the Defense was why Craig thought that the 11th Circuit Court would rule any differently with Siegelman than they did with Scrushy concerning Canary's conflict of interest?

CRAIG RESPONDS

Greg Craig, plainspoken and enthusiastic, spoke directly to the questions asked. In response to Land's need to determine the likelihood of Don winning his appeal or new trial, he responded that they don't have to hit a homerun but just get on base.

Craig said that if he were granted a new trial that the length of time is easy to imagine. Furthermore, given the history of waiting for appeals postponed in the past warranted that kind of timeframe.

Craig also addressed the metaphor that Judge Land had posed to the Government to help define conflict of interest. Craig said that the conflict of interest metaphor would have been more accurate if it featured someone who was supplying several hundred thousand dollars to the prosecutor's combined family income because the prosecutor's spouse was representing the defendant's political opponent. The conflict of interest was political, not financial.

In response to the interchangeability of Scrushy and Siegelman, Craig answered that Canary's conflict of interest was with the political career of the unbeatable democrat, Don Siegelman. They were in 2 different situations. Scrushy was a wealthy businessman who contributed to Don's education lottery fund. The Prosecution succeeded in making it look like bribery, even when they knew it wasn't, in order to exact a political end, derailing and ending Don Siegelman's political career. So Don's conflict of interest is different and real.

THE JUDGE DECIDES TO DEFER HIS DECISION

In his questioning of Craig, the judge hinted at his thinking when he suggested that Don's release could perhaps happen later when there was an indication that he might actually win his appeal.

After about an hour of rigorous questioning, the judge said that he would make his decision about releasing Don by Friday, Dec. 19th.

Don looked bent as he heard the decision to postpone. But he turned to the gallery again, smiling before leaving the courtroom. A gallery full of hands once again rose upward unanimously to wave as Don smiled and dragged his chains out of the room. People left the courthouse quietly, returning to their business. A few people were interviewed by the press on their way out of the building.

It is reported that Don is in solitary in the Montgomery County Jail. To learn more about the Don Siegelman Case, click on the links below.

JUDGE LAND DECIDES NOT TO RELEASE

I assume that Judge Land had no other knowledge of the case other than the court records. He might be a good judge and have no recourse but to find as he does.

But I am disappointed. A corrupt prosecutor and judge can have a lot of power to do evil, and in this case, the corrupt prosecutor and judge who set this case in motion are truly evil.

Legal does not mean right or moral, that is clear. But I was hoping that our justice system would prove vital and able to respond to this serious miscarriage of justice. But it can't. Not this time, anyway.

His decision was made public on Thursday, Dec. 18th.

DEMAND CLEMANCY!

Make your voice heard. Take the SURVEY in Al.com

NEW TO THE SIEGELMAN STORY?

Want to learn more?

For a quick start, watch KILLING ATTICUS FINCH.

To dig deeper, visit FREE-DON.ORG

WOW! THANK YOU SUPPORTERS! THE THUNDERCLAP WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!!

At 10:30 December 15, when Don was scheduled to appear in court, almost a quarter of a million social media sites posted a graphic, a burning candle with FREE-DON superimposed, simultaneously to over 238,000 social media. While Don was not aware of the universal show of support, it is exciting to think that so many people are holding Don Siegelman's case in their heart and mind.

SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER ON FACEBOOK

#FreeDonSiegelman