Documents revealed: No wonder {AL Speaker} Mike Hubbard wanted them sealed (AL.com)
By John Archibald | jarchibald@al.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on September 11, 2015 at 8:30 PM, updated September 12, 2015 at 9:11 AM
It is obvious now why Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard wanted motions and documents in his ongoing corruption case sealed.
They are embarrassing.
Or they ought to be.
Hubbard, who has publicly praised ethics reforms Republicans used to usher themselves to power – including those that prevented public officials from lobbying -- asked Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III to dismiss charges against him on a claim that the much ballyhooed ethics law is unconstitutional, and that he, even as a public official, has a constitutional right to lobby for money.
Even from his powerful position in the Legislature. Even as an elected representative of the people of Alabama.
Hubbard lawyer J. Mark White argues under the heading: "Hubbard's right to lobby on behalf of his or his business' clients is a fundamental right constitutionally protected by the First Amendment," that the law Hubbard is charged with breaking presents a host of constitutional issues.
***
more: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/documents_revealed_no_wonder_m.html#incart_river