Shoals Defense Attorneys Have to Love Troy King

We'll be the first to say that Troy King has many good points; we're just not sure his merits outweigh his faults. Certainly we're thankful to the Alabama Attorney General (pictured with his assistant) for stepping in when local District Attorneys drop the ball, or at least refuse to catch it, as with Chris Connolly in the Keith McGuire rape case. We also had serious doubts that a Federal investigation of King would continue after Republican Alice Martin left office. Apparently the probe is not only continuing, it's heating up.

If Troy King is guilty of all the charges the Federal government seeks to bring against him, we hope he is promptly removed from office. If he is innocent in some trumped-up witch hunt, we hope he will be able to prove both his good intentions and legal basis for any actions that have been questioned. The problem is King is using our money to defend himself against these charges.

It has not been that long ago that Troy King set a cap of $45.00 an hour for court-appointed defense attorneys. Many in the Shoals area, as well as across the state, voiced their shock at the rate, a rate well below that of other states. Now, King has retained the Birmingham firm of Bradley, Arant, Boult, and Cummings to assist in his defense. The high profile firm, formerly known as Bradley, Arant, Rose, & White, has been dubbed by many as "Brashly Arrogant." Indeed, at $300.00 an hour, a certain amount of brashness is to be expected.

In case you missed that amount in the previous paragraph, that was $300.00 an hour of taxpayer's money King will be paying these hotshot lawyers to defend him against ethics violations. If you don't have a calculator handy, that amounts to $255.00 an hour more than King has previously stated defense attorneys are worth.

It's entirely possible Troy King will have left office before the probe is concluded. If King should choose to run again before the probe has ended, we hope everyone will remember his $300.00 an hour legal counsel as they mark their ballots.


What's up with this: Check out TKtheAG on Twitter. We thought it was a well done spoof at first, but several in the know assure us it's real.

Shoalanda