Gulag Justice? Alabama Blogger Jailed in Secretive Scandal

[JohnyCanuck]

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama–In a case troubling to free speech advocates, an Alabama journalist who blogged about allegations of a sordid affair between a powerful Republican scion and a lobbyist has been arrested and now sits in jail on contempt charges.

snip

The case is rooted in Shuler’s allegations of an affair in about 2006 between a scion of one of Alabama’s elite political families, Robert Riley, Jr., and Liberty Duke, a registered lobbyist in Alabama. Riley is a Birmingham lawyer and son of Bob Riley, a nationally prominent Republican who served as governor of Alabama from 2002 to 2010.

Shuler reported on his “Legal Schnauzer” blog that Duke got pregnant, and “Republican insiders” paid her as much as $300,000 to have an abortion and to “stay quiet on the subject.” Both Riley and Duke were married with children at the time of the alleged affair, though Duke was soon sued for divorce by her husband.

snip

In addition to the First Amendment ramifications, the case has implications beyond state borders. For two decades now, Alabama has been regarded as a kind of Shangri-La by the national Republican Party; it was the petri dish where Rove demonstrated that stealth micro-politics — the appointment of a particular partisan judge or prosecutor, for example – can pave the way to achieving broader political goals.

Shuler’s wife said Riley used his political connections to get special consideration from Judge Neilson. For example, the judge has sealed all records of the case and ordered Shuler to scrub the Internet of his stories about the affair—moves that the ACLU’s Marshall said are unprecedented.

The case does not appear under the normal search parameters—the names of plaintiffs and defendants–in the Alabama state court online database. When searched by its secret docket number, a blunt message appears: “This case is confidential.”

http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/11/11/gulag-justice-alabama-blogger-jailed-in-secretive-scandal/

Note to mods: I went over the usual "4 paragraph rule" for a quote because these paragraphs are quite short, just one or two sentences. Hope this is ok. If not, let me know and I will edit accordingly.

[struggle4progress]

1. Shuler is pretty much a nutcase IMO

... Riley denied allegations Shuler made that he was having an affair and took him to court ... When Riley asked the court for an injunction against Shuler, Shuler didn't show ... Shelby County deputies attempted to serve Shuler with a summons for an injunction hearing. When those deputies eventually pulled Shuler over to serve him the papers, Shuler threw the papers out the window of his car and cursed at the officers. "If you want an order to be issued against you, the way he acted is pretty much the best way to ensure it will be," said Ken White, a lawyer .. who has written about Shuler's case. "You have to show up in court to police your rights" ...

Truth-teller or bomb-thrower? Legal Schnauzer blogger jailed after violating court order
By Kyle Whitmire
October 29, 2013 at 6:07 PM
updated October 29, 2013 at 8:19 PM

[brentspeak]

2. No surprise that an anonymous poster who spouts RW talking points on a Dem site

would characterize a Democratic blogger as a "nutcase".

[struggle4progress]

3. ... Judge Ronald Jackson asked if Shuler had an attorney. Shuler replied no. The judge then asked

if Shuler wanted the court to appoint an attorney for him. Shuler again replied no ...
Jailed Blogger in Court
By Mike McClanahan
Updated: Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 6:45 PM CST
Published: Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 6:45 PM CST

That's strange, to say the least

[TroglodyteScholar]

4. Wait...

What is Shuler's crime?

[struggle4progress]

8. I didn't call him a criminal: I called him a nutcase

[TroglodyteScholar]

9. So you don't think jail was appropriate? n/t

[struggle4progress]

18. (1) He calls himself "Legal Schnauzer" but doesn't seem to know any law; (2) He seems to believe

he's entitled to ignore court orders: he ignored a $1500 judgement against him about five years ago, so the other party obtained a lien on his house, apparently resulting in a sheriff's sale; and here he ignored an injunction in a civil suit against him; (3) Despite not knowing any law, he has regularly represented himself in court and when pursuing his various lawsuits, as he apparently intends to do again in this case

I'm not a lawyer, but I'll make some remarks that seem to me common sense:

First, if you don't know squat about the law, and somebody sues you, or if you decide to sue somebody, get competent legal counsel -- don't go the do-it-yourself route

Second, if you're being sued, don't ignore the proceedings

With regard to the little I know about this case (which is entirely inadequate to answer the question you ask me, especially given my lack of expertise), the facts seem to be as follows:

Shuler was sued for defamation

He continued in his claims -- and it can be a very bad idea to do that, because if you lose at trial, your continuing will be be considered when awarding the damages

Shuler was then slapped with an injunction to desist. This probably means that the judge felt that the activity involved was causing continuing harm to the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff had good chances of prevailing in the suit. A number of bloggers are suggesting that injunction is unlawful prior restraint of speech, a claim which I am not competent to evaluate, though I suspect the courts might not consider first amendment issues in the context of an injunction associated with a defamation tort: such question might be litigable by a competent attorney but it will never be successfully litigated by Shuler acting pro se

Shuler chose to ignore the injunction. No! no! no! no! no! OMG what a moron! Under some circumstances, a competent attorney might perhaps get such an injunction set aside, either by the issuing judge or by some higher court on appropriate appeal -- but you don't get to decide on your own whether or not to heed a court order. The general rule is going to be if you just ignore them, you'll be held in contempt, which is what happened here

Shuler was arrested and jailed -- not a whopping big surprise to anyone who pays attention to the real world, I think

Shuler then indicates he has no attorney and doesn't want one. Aaargh! Roger's looking to go the pro se route again. He's evidently not a quick learner about the complexities of the legal system

[struggle4progress]

6. U. of Alabama at Birmingham Editor Says He Was Fired Over His Political Blog

July 14, 2008
A longtime editor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been fired because, he says, he used his personal blog to harshly attack high-ranking Republicans in the state ... He was fired in May after placing a written request for vacation time on his boss’s chair instead of handing it directly to her, he says. After the boss reprimanded him for that act, and Mr. Shuler complained about the reprimand, he says, the university investigated his use of his university computer and contended he was spending three hours a day on research for his blog. And for that, the university fired him ... He believes the reprimand for his vacation request and the investigation of his computer use were attempts to punish him for using his blog to criticize the Republican U.S. attorneys in the state ...
http://chronicle.com/article/U-of-Alabama-at-Birmingham/41296

[struggle4progress]

7. Back in 2008, Shuler had a $1500 judgement against him, which he declined to pay,

so the suit turned into a sheriff's sale of his house

Shuler sued in Federal court, claiming violation of his Federal civil rights, lost, and appealed. Here's the Eleventh Circuit decision, affirming the District Court: Shuler v Swatek

What you should note is that, although Shuler has no legal training, he appealed pro se -- and lost, not knowing anything about the law

Do you know that saying, a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client?

[struggle4progress]

10. With regard the loss of his job at UA (see #6 upthread), Shuler sued on grounds entirely different

than indicated by his earlier allegations about the reasons for his firing: he sued, alleging age and gender discrimination

He lost, on variety of technical matters, including failure to timely notify some respondents of his complaint, and again appealed pro se -- and, of course, promptly lost again: see Shuler v Board of Trustees

The guy is nuts: he regularly sallies into court to push cases that seem without merit and that he, lacking any legal training, is in any case incompetent to pursue

[sabrina 1]

12. You seem determinged to smear this man who everyone who has followed the Karl Rove corruption

in Alabama knows to be a brave, courageous truth teller about the corrupt Far Right politics in that state.

You don't seem to know much about him.

One of my all time favorite bloggers since way back when he was exposing the anti-Democratic corrupt politics in Alabama and he was proved to be right when even some Republicans bore witness to his exposures.

He is a threat to the Right Wing political machine there and THAT is why he is in jail.

[struggle4progress]

23. As usual, you make your claims with great show of certitude -- but no evidence

[sabrina 1]

14. Exactly. Shuler is a courageous person who has spent years exposing the Right Wing corruption

in Alabama. It is reprehensible that he would be smeared on a Democratic forum.

He was the one who uncovered and reported, despite the threats against him, the corruption in Don Siegelman's case.

I will have to go back to check if Riley, mentioned in this article, is the same judge who was involved in the Siegelman case.

We need way, way more Shuler's in this country but considering what has been done to him for simply exposing corruption, leading, in Siegelman's case, all the way to Karl Rove, it's understandable that most ordinary people do not have the kind of courage he has.

Democrats need to make a huge stink over this. They've been after him for years since he made the connections in the Siegelman case corruption to Karl Rove.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Rove is somehow involved in this too.

[Gravitycollapse]

5. I'm with you on this. His wife was supposedly "barricaded" in her house for fear of arrest...

Even though no one was outside.

These two sound like gossip columnists manufacturing a conspiracy to round out their predictions.

[sabrina 1]

24. That's what Karl Rove and his minions would like you to believe. When he has a

a problem with someone, he is very creative in his pursuit of them, there is a long trail of people smeared by Rove, many of them, like Shuler, landing in jail. And he sure has reason to hate Shuler and lots of right wing friends in Alabama.

[sabrina 1]

11. Schuler is a hero. He is the one who has exposed the Right Wing scam that put Democratic Gov

Don Siegelman in jail. He has exposed the corruption in that case. I have NEVER heard anyone who knows Schuler describe him as a 'nutcase', other than maybe, Karl Rove.

Where did you get this idea from? Most DEMOCRATS have been familiar with Shuler's work for years. He has fought the extreme right in that state for years.

Someone there is afraid of his fearlessness in exposing the Right Wing corruption that has gone unchecked for far too long.

You need to do a little research before jumping into a thread and attacking someone who has the courage to fight the Far Right in Alabama when others were too frightened to do so.

[Gravitycollapse]

13. Not sure I consider someone who digs up old gay porn photos to make the news a "hero."

Maybe an opportunist is a better word. Based on what's been posted in this thread, I think we can determine the man clearly thinks very highly of himself despite several courts disagreeing.

[sabrina 1]

15. People often expose who they really are without realizing it.

Shuler has been a consistent exposer of the corrupt Far Right in Alabama for years. If you think he should leave them alone along with Karl Rove, that would be a strange position for any Democrat considering the extent of anti-Democratic corruption that has been exposed in that state, not just by Shuler, but even by some Republicans.

Don't use Gays to attack a great Left blogger. It is a tactic that has zero effect on those of us who are very familiar with it.

He exposed the horrific hypocrisy of Right Wingers and they have hated him for years for his incredible research and reporting on that state's far Right Republicans.

Why are you supporting them?

[Gravitycollapse]

16. From my point of view, I see two distinct groups of douchebags.

A whiny, self-important pseudo-journalist with a persecution complex who is married to a clone of himself. I also see a journalist who thinks it's news to dig up 30 year old porn photos because apparently that's relevant in his mind. I see someone who writes about supposed abuses of the judicial and legal system while he himself feels little or no need to follow court orders and judgements. He also expresses a general misunderstanding of the judicial process and then becomes enraged with conspiracy when he makes an ass of himself.

On the other side, I see a group of good old boy Republican law makers and enforcement officers who are getting a lot of schadenfreude out of Shuler acting the fool. They probably deserve to have a greater body of journalists investigating their potential misdeeds. Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for them, all we seem to have is Shuler. And he's currently busy digging a hole all the way to China.

[sabrina 1]

17. I'm not surprised at all by your pov, explaining your pov doesn't answer the question

I asked 'why are you supporting the corrupt, Far Right Republicans in Alabama and struggling so hard to smear, not that you will succeed considering his status in the Progressive Democratic community, such a well respected blogger who has successfully exposed their corruption?

You're wasting your time repeating the opinion of the corrupt Right Wing party in Alabama. They agree with you, but no self respecting Democrat agrees with THEM.

[Gravitycollapse]

19. You know, you keep talking about how well respected he is...

That doesn't exactly explain why no one really seems to care about his supposed plight.

[sabrina 1]

20. Sure, that is why it is getting so much attention AND donations from the Progressive community.

Despite the effort by the Corrupt Right Wingers in Alabama to keep all this so secret. I only found out about it a day or so ago, same for many people who know his work. I am not shocked at all that they are rail-roading him. When you upset Karl Rove, he never forgets.

And Shuler sure has upset Karl Rove and done so very publicly. Watch how much support he gets as the story reaches more and more people. I have already begun to receive requests, from Progressive sources, for assistance in exposing this story.

It's odd that you are not familiar with his work. Considering you are a democrat and must have been around when we were all following his exposure of those Karl Rove minions who control that state.

[struggle4progress]

21. No, Shuler is not "the one" who exposed the Siegelman case. Quite a number of people worked

on that story, including both mainstream and alternative or new media

I did first encounter Shuler's Legal Schnauzer blog back when the story was relatively new, and I did check it regularly for a while to see if I could learn anything from it -- but what I learned, I'm afraid, is that Shuler himself is just a crackpot

I'm of course glad to hear anyone stand up for Siegelman, who IMO obviously got screwed unfairly -- but my advice, to anyone who really hopes to make much of a difference, is to stay far far away from Shuler, because he's batshizz crazy and adoration of batshizz crazy folk leads quickly to complete loss of credibility

[sabrina 1]

22. Keep digging ... I'm done wasting time on something that is nothing but an attempt to smear

someone who is highly respected for his work by the Progressive community, He needs no defense from me.

You know people by the company they keep. And you also know them, perhaps even more so, by the enemies they make.

Shuler has all the 'Right' enemies, including Karl Rove.

The Obama Justice Dept shamed itself by not doing for Siegelman what they did for Sen. Stevens, overturn the Karl Rove (thank you Shuler) orchestrated, corrupt conviction of a truly good Democrat.

Where is the leadership of the Dem Party in defending Siegelman?

[struggle4progress]

25. Hearing Set for Nov. 14 on "Permanent Injunctions" in Legal Schnauzer First Amendment Case

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
This is Carol, Roger's wife. A bogus court hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. on the grossly unconstitutional & unlawful "permanent injunctions" in the Legal Schnauzer first amendment case. The location and nature of this so-called hearing is unknown at this time ... As I was saying, this mystery hearing is supposedly set for Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. But where it is taking place we do not know. The nature of it we do not know. We do not know anything ...
http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/

Hmmm ...

Carol's post includes an image which clear indicates that the hearing concerns the permanent injunctions previously issued by the court -- and the page is headed CIRCUIT COURT OF SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA

Not wanting to put too fine a point on the matter, but the Shelby County Circuit Court clerk has a website including address of the court, link to a map of the court's location, and contact info. Related links are available at the Shelby Count website. Since Roger like to be called "an investigative report," one might have hoped that accessing such basic info might have been within his skill-set, but perhaps that is expecting too much