Wednesday, June 08, 2016

COMMENTARY -- Mike Hubbard: The Unthinkable Has Happened - By Donald V. Watkins - Hubbard’s decision to take the witness stand in his own case shocked me. As a defense attorney, I have never put the weight of winning a criminal case on the shoulders of the accused. Winning the case was my job, and I did it well. All of my clients in criminal cases walked out of the courtroom as free men and women. -- Now I understand why Hubbard turned down an attractive plea deal that had been worked out for him by some of his friends. Hubbard actually thinks he can talk his way out of a guilty verdict on all 23 counts. The chances of this happening are slim to none.


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COMMENTARY---
Mike Hubbard: The Unthinkable Has Happened
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on June 8, 2016
Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard did the unthinkable yesterday. He took the witness stand in his own defense on 23 felony counts of ethics violations. Nobody saw this move coming. I certainly didn't.
I have been a litigator for 43 years. During my career, I have handled scores of high profile, complex criminal cases. I hold the record in American jurisprudence for winning the largest number of criminal counts against a single defendant in the federal criminal case of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. In November 2003, Scrushy was indicted on 85 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. He faced up to 650 years in prison. On June 28, 2005, Scrushy won an acquittal on the 36 counts that actually made it to a jury trial.
Hubbard's decision to take the witness stand in his own case shocked me. As a defense attorney, I have never put the weight of winning a criminal case on the shoulders of the accused. Winning the case was my job, and I did it well. All of my clients in criminal cases walked out of the courtroom as free men and women.
Testifying in his own defense is a high-risk move for Hubbard. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each of his 23 counts. Matt Hart, the lead prosecutor in this case, is a seasoned pit bull with plenty of courtroom experience. Hubbard's decision to take the witness stand has placed him squarely inside the Lee County backyard of a pit bull that has prepared for this defensive play for nearly two years.
Now I understand why Hubbard turned down an attractive plea deal that had been worked out for him by some of his friends. Hubbard actually thinks he can talk his way out of a guilty verdict on all 23 counts. The chances of this happening are slim to none.
I do not believe Hubbard's lawyers recommended that he take the witness stand in his own defense. No highly skilled criminal defense attorney would willingly allow a vulnerable politician to square off against a known pit bull prosecutor in this "let's clean up public corruption" ethics reform environment. I think Mike Hubbard made this ill-advised tactical decision all by himself. Hubbard apparently felt the need to "lawyer" his way out of this mess by testifying in his own defense.
This unexpected move signals to me that Hubbard's trial is not going well for the defense. Hubbard's act of taking the witness stand is the courtroom equivalent of a "Hail Mary" pass in the waning days of his trial.
There is very little upside for Hubbard in testifying in his own defense. The trail of damning emails and the documented flow of millions of dollars to Hubbard from an unsavory den of so-called "friends" (i.e., the new definition for "influence peddlers") have already killed him.
Just think about it for a moment --- No one would "invest" $1.5 million in cash in Hubbard's dying printing company during the booming era of in-house, high tech, commercial quality printing platforms, except someone who is seeking to buy influence with the Speaker of the House. This is especially true after Hubbard reminded his "friends" about his role as the brave field general who led an army of Alabama Republicans in "Storming the Statehouse" in 2010.
A true "friend" would have told Hubbard to find another line of work because his $61,500 part-time annual salary as a public office was not adequate to meet his family's needs. Friends tell you the truth about your desperate financial situation, even when you do not want to hear the truth.
The downside of Hubbard testifying could be fatal for him if Matt Hart rips Hubbard apart on cross-examination, which I believe Hart will do. It is a very rare circumstance when a defendant's testimony actually helps to win his/her criminal case.
I have always believed that it is the lawyer's job to win the case. We are trained in the sophisticated art of courtroom warfare where everything that occurs during the course of a trial matters in the pursuit of victory.
I always preferred criminal cases because they were much easier for me to win. All I had to do was focus on discrediting each prosecution witness through skillful cross-examination. Over the decades, I honed this courtroom skill into a laser-like defensive tool and became very proficient at using it to discredit prosecution witnesses in record time. Without credible witnesses, the prosecution could not prove its case. My cases were effectively won as soon as the prosecutors rested their cases and sat down.
I believe prosecutor Matt Hart will bat down Hubbard's desperate "Hail Mary" pass. When he does, this case is over.
Sadly, there is one thing we can say about Mike Hubbard – his price tag was sky high by Alabama standards. Surprisingly, Hubbard found plenty of "friends" around the state who were willing to pay the price he demanded.
Hopefully, the jury verdict in Hubbard's case will start the beginning of the end to runaway public corruption in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Alabama state government.
Governor Robert Bentley and his lover Rebekah Mason are up next at the criminal defense table. Now that is going to be one of the most salacious criminal trials of the 21st Century. Bentley's criminal case is a "made-for-TV" sex scandal.
Stay tuned.

Donald V. Watkins


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