Only the folks obsessed with black helicopters and grassy knolls put a whole lot of stock into stories starring Riley as the puppeteer who got the court to issue a decision that put VictoryLand's casino out of business. Why, according to the conspiracy theorists, Riley's control even extended to deciding which justice would write the opinion.
What is outlandish about that theory? Absolutely nothing, when you consider that the Alabama Supreme Court repeatedly ruled in Riley's favor and overturned longstanding precedent while doing it .
How loony have the Supreme Court's actions been on bingo? Consider this report from WSFA in Montgomery:
In an unusual and rare move, the state Supreme Court overruled itself when it decided that Governor Riley and his task force can continue to pursue an electronic bingo case against the White Hall gaming center. Some are even calling the decision historic.
Since the 1980's, the state has been operating under a state Supreme Court ruling that said it's the Attorney General who has the final say-so regarding legal matters in the state. However, as a result of Friday's ruling, that's not true anymore. The state Supreme Court ruled in the "Weaver" case back in the 1980's, when Don Siegelman was Attorney General, that it was the Attorney General who has the ultimate power to settle legal disputes in the state.
But now, the Supreme Court has overruled itself saying "Attorney General King (and others) argue that this court's decision in Weaver supports their position. Because that decision is inconsistent with the reasoning and conclusions we express today, we hereby overrule Weaver."
Who authored Ex parte State of Alabama v. Cornerstone Community Outreach, the decision that overturned Weaver ? Why, Justice Glenn Murdock, a longtime Riley ally who is under investigation for failing to reveal possible conflicts in bingo cases. For good measure, Murdock and Riley have shared a campaign manager, Montgomery GOP henchman Dax Swatek.
Get this: The Alabama Supreme Court overturned roughly 25 years' worth of precedent to essentially rule that Gov. Bob Riley also is the attorney general of our state. Does that have a foul odor?
Such dubious actions have repercussions. Eleven Alabama citizens--legislators, lobbyists, casino personnel--now are under indictment, partly because the Alabama Supreme Court found that Bob Riley could more or less masquerade as attorney general.
We are supposed to believe, it appears, that Gorman Houston was an objective, disinterested party in this affair. And I've read numerous articles over the years extolling Houston's extraordinary virtues as a lawyer and judge. But who appointed Houston to conduct the investigation of the Alabama Supreme Court? Why, the Alabama Supreme Court itself. And what organization did Houston used to be a part of? Uh, the Alabama Supreme Court.
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