"Scoggins Cannot Be Convicted of Possession of a Fireman"

Former Muscle Shoals Police Officer Greg Scoggins, along with Colbert County attorney Billy Underwood, has filed suit against the city. The suit involves five counts and is lengthy; however, much of the wording is so profound, and sometimes downright humorous, we've publishing it here in its entirety:

APPEAL

Comes now Greg Scoggins, by and through his attorney of record, William J. Underwood, and states unto this Honorable Court as follows:

1. That a hearing was had on or about the 18 th of January, 2013 concerning Scoggins’ appeal of a decision by the Mayor of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

2. Pursuant to the language in said Civil Service Act that has been passed by the Alabama State Legislature, Scoggins is appealing the ruling of the Civil Service Board in upholding the decision of the Mayor.

For the following reasons, your Plaintiff is appealing this decision:

COUNT I

The Civil Service Board was prejudiced against Scoggins and refused to hear evidence to show their prejudicial proclivity.

1. Scoggins had subpoenaed all the department heads who were at a hearing where the Civil Service Board met on or about the 11 th of January, 2013. Scoggins expected some of the department heads to say some of the members of the Civil Service Board were prejudice in this case and expressed their prejudice in conversations with the Chief of Police, Robert Evans.

2. Scoggins verily believes that one of the Civil Service Board members asked Evans what procedure they should be following and Evans shot back that they were the ones over the procedures; it was their rules.

3. The Civil Service Board told Scoggins they would allow him to put evidence on of their prejudicial nature after the City of Muscle Shoals had presented its evidence.

4. Scoggins, thereinafter, tried to put evidence on to show prejudice of Civil Service Board. The Board refused to allow any witnesses.

5. In a case in the Circuit Court of Colbert County, Alabama, the aggrieved party who was not allowed to enter evidence is always allowed to make a proffer or proof for the record so that he could show what he expected the evidence to say. The City of Muscle Shoals Civil Service Board refused to allow Scoggins’ attorney the right to even make an offer of what some of the department heads on the Civil Service Board would have told the tribunal and allow that to be in this record before this Court.

6. A Russian soldier in the German concentration camp prison, Auswitch, had a fairer chance of being pardoned than Scoggins did in front of this tribunal.

WHEREFORE, THE PREMISES CONSIDERED, Scoggins’ Constitutional right to show the prejudicial nature of the Civil Service Board and to proffer evidence regarding their proclivity to have already ruled against him was stymied by their failure to allow him to even make a record.

COUNT II

The Civil Board made arbitrary and capricious rules, were violative of Constitutional provisions, and acted in excess of the authority conferred by this act on the Civil Service Board.

1. The entire nature of the proceeding was void of any interaction that could be had by Scoggins’ attorneys with the witnesses.

2. When Scoggins’ attorneys had stated that the Board had received at least two hours of instruction on how to run their meetings, they all single-mindedly and vehemently stated “that was not true” and they “had never received any information on how they should be conducting Civil Service Board hearings.

3. Scoggins attempted and wanted to put, before the Civil Service Board, evidence of selective prosecution. The Civil Service Board disallowed any evidence of selective prosecution and would not allow Scoggins’ attorneys to make any proffer or offer of proof of evidence that would be on the record for this Court.

4. Scoggins’ attorneys will show this Court that people had violated the tenants of the Civil Service Board rules and had been treated disproportionately more lenient than Scoggins. His attorneys attempted to put in specific references to Group II violations by individuals who were governed by the Civil Service Board and said Board refused to hear any of those specific violations.

5. The Civil Service Board made no ruling on whether or not Scoggins should have received a lesser penalty. Scoggins had requested the Board to consider giving him a lesser penalty.

WHEREFORE, THE PREMISES CONSIDERED, Scoggins’ Constitutional rights were again violated which disregards this record because the Civil Service Board of Muscle Shoals refused to allow any offer of evidence concerning Group II offenses which were treated more leniently than his offense.

COUNT III

The Civil Service Board went into executive session and voted in violation of the Alabama Open Records Act.

1. Under the Alabama Open Records Act, the Civil Service Board could not go into executive session and vote in regards to Scoggins’ penalty.

2. The Civil Service Board went into executive session and voted. An exhibit that should be with the record shows the secret vote. All of the Civil Service Board members voted only to uphold the Mayor’s recommendation. They did not make any findings of fact nor did they make any findings of fact in regards to Scoggins’ request that they give him a lesser penalty.

3. To say that the Civil Service Board was quasi-judicial would require them to make findings of fact. There is case law from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in a case out of Gadsden, Alabama that the Civil Service Board must make findings of fact which would show they were quasi-judicial. This Civil Service Board, in violation of the Open Meeting Act, only voted to uphold the Mayor’s decision and did not make any findings of fact; thus it fails to be a quasi-judicial board.

COUNT IV

William Moore either forgot or made statements under oath that were utterly false.

1. The Civil Service Board entertained testimony from William Moore, who works at the Water Treatment Plant.

2. William Moore was asked by Scoggins’ attorneys if he was supposed to receive the deer head from the Game Conservation Officer when all of this was over.

3. The fact that he would receive the deer head would be construed as payment for his testimony and not allowable under Alabama Law.

4. Moore has made statements to his supervisor and supposedly a member of the Water Board that he was going to receive the head of the buck after this case had been tried in Colbert County District Court. Said statements made under oath by Moore were false and Scoggins believed knowingly made of the proof of their falsity.

WHEREFORE, THE PREMISES CONSIDERED, this matter should be returned to the City of Muscle Shoals after the Court takes testimony from individuals at the Water Board who will state Moore’s testimony was false.

COUNT V

Scoggins cannot be convicted of Possession of a Fireman.

1. The Chief of Police, Robert Evans, found that Scoggins was guilty of Possession of a Fireman. The hearing before the Mayor resulted in the same finding:

Scoggins was in Possession of a Fireman. The Civil Service Board did not make any corrections to the mischaracterization of what Scoggins’ supposedly was in violation.

2. The fact of the matter is Muscle Shoals Police Officers are allowed to carry other weapons in their vehicle in contradiction of the section the Civil Service Board allegedly upheld in the Mayor’s ruling. Captain Clint Reck testified under oath that members of the Muscle Shoals Police Department are allowed to carry their own weapons in their police car. You cannot convict someone of being in violation of possession of firearms, misnamed as possession of a fireman, when the Chief of Police has a different rule.

WHEREFORE, THE PREMISES CONSIDERED, this action should be sent back with instructions to the Civil Service Board to dismiss any findings of fact in regards to possession of firearms as there are two different rules followed by the police department and the Civil Service Board in regards to said statutes.

CONCLUSION

Scoggins prays that after the Court looks over the record and the Constitutional violations made by the Civil Service Board, it will order certain accusations against him be dismissed by operation of law and return the other accusations for a new trial where Scoggins can put evidence on to show selective prosecution, failure of the Civil Service Board to treat his penalty in regards to other penalties meted out by department heads in Muscle Shoals, and failure of the Civil Service Board to hear testimony of what appeared to be their prejudice and bias against Scoggins before the hearing was ever had.

Respectfully submitted this the 22 nd day of January, 2013.

*****

From D.K.:

On Jan. 22 , the Parole Board turned down the Parole of Christopher D. Berry for the max of 5 years, Berry pleaded guilty to Manslaughter and received a 20 year sentence in the death of Sidney Carson Cox, both of Colbert Co.

Thanks to Alabama Attorney General, VSO Ashley Harbin, VOCAL, all the Local and State Elected Officials for their protest letters and for Sidney's sister, Sarah Thompson, for speaking. Thanks so much to the parole board.



Shoalanda