Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Do You Have a Photo ID? How About a Defense Attorney?


Will Alabamians soon be needing a photo ID to vote? Probably. Is this bad? Marcel Black thinks so. Lynn Greer doesn't. So, which is it?

Probably a little of both; however, we don't know any "aged or infirm" citizens who have neither a valid Alabama Driver License or Alabama Non-Driver ID. Not to mention, the Non-Driver IDs will apparently now be free to anyone of voting age. How much will this cost the state budget?

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Perhaps Lauderdale County will have to worry less about any budget shortfalls if Harold Peck has his way. He proposes to save the county at least 400K each year by establishing a paid group of indigent defense lawyers. Well, this sounds good, but...

It seems these attorneys won't be allowed to do any other kind of work...no real estate transactions, pre-nups, or wills...just criminal defense cases in Lauderdale County. How many experienced attorneys will jump at a chance like this? We would guess few.

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We have been contacted by Tabitha Ergle Hall who was misidentified by sources with the Russellville Police Department in an earlier blog. Tabitha would like us to note the correct spelling of her name, as well as the fact she is not the current wife of Jeremy Shane Hall, but the ex-wife of his brother Josh and mother to Josh's three children. Since there are two newsmakers named Jeremy Shane Hall, we will also note that Sgt. Hall is the son of Jerry and Carol Hall.

We have been asked if our police sources are usually disgruntled employees. That may be true in some cases, but we also regularly hear from some Russellville officers and their wives who have nothing but kudos for the force. It usually runs about 50-50, while in comparison, our Florence sources stand behind their department 100%. We have said it before, but it certainly bears repeating: Florence is extremely lucky to have not only an honest, but also an efficient chief in Rick Singleton.



Shoalanda