Monday, October 20, 2014

Now that Mark Fuller's divorce file has been unsealed, what about the case of Jessica Medeiros Garrison?


Jessica Medeiros Garrison, with Bill
Pryor and Jeff Sessions
An Alabama state judge has ruled that the divorce file of wife-beating federal judge Mark Fuller should, for the most part, be unsealed. That's a step in the right direction, but Fuller hardly is the only white, conservative politico to have his divorce file kept from public view.

We know of at least one other such case, and it belongs to Jessica Medeiros Garrison, former campaign manager for Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.

In making her ruling last Friday, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Anita Kelly more or less confirmed there never were any lawful grounds for sealing Fuller's divorce case from his first wife. Fuller now stands charged with beating his second wife in an Atlanta hotel room back in August, drawing widespread calls for his resignation or impeachment.

If there were no lawful grounds for sealing the Fuller divorce case, that almost certainly is the case with Jessica Medeiros Garrison's divorce from Lee Garrison, a Tuscaloosa insurance man and chair of the city's school board.

The Garrisons were divorced in October 2009, and records from a subsequent custody action involving their son have remained public. Records from the divorce case itself were sealed, at Jessica Garrison's request, and the Fuller case now stands as evidence that the Garrison case almost certainly should have remained a public record.

Jessica Garrison is not a federal judge, but she is a prominent player in Alabama Republican politics. In addition to her ties to Luther Strange, she works for the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and holds a position with the corporate Balch and Bingham law firm of Birmingham. She also has worked for U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions and U.S. Circuit Judge Bill Pryor. She is president of something called the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which apparently is an extension of RAGA.

In his Facebook coverage of the Mark Fuller wife-beating case, attorney Donald Watkins has said Alabama is ruled by a white, Republican "oligarchy," whose members enjoy certain privileges that most citizens do not. One of the those privileges apparently involves the easy sealing of divorce files that might contain embarrassing or unpleasant information.

Mark Fuller clearly belongs to the oligarchy, and it appears Jessica Garrison holds a comfortable position there as well.

In 2012, a group of independent journalists (including me) moved the Montgomery circuit court to unseal the Fuller divorce file, and that request was denied. It wasn't until the mainstream al.com media conglomerate made a similar request last week that the court decided to pay attention and more or less follow the law.

If Mark Fuller's divorce file is fit for public consumption, surely the same applies to Jessica Medeiros Garrison. We challenge al.com to petition the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court and demand that the case be unsealed.

The Garrison divorce documents are public records, and they should be treated as such.


10 comments:

David in S. Alabama said...

Is Fuller's divorce file available on line?

legalschnauzer said...

David:

I don't think the file will be available online, unless a journalist or private citizen gets a copy, scans it, and puts it there. You probably will need a connection to alacourt.gov to see it. Not sure it is available there yet.

Anonymous said...

Jessica has been low profile lately. Good to see her back in the news.

Anonymous said...

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/mike_hubbard_indicted.html

e.a.f. said...

Once upon a time they made a movie about a Louisiana Governor. Great success.

Who will write the screen play for the movie, Alabama Republics? Sort of a sex and the city vibe with a little southern politics thrown in. It might just be a smash. I do mean, The Good Wife is doing oh so well, why not something southern?

Anonymous said...

MORAL TURPITUDE.

That is what the "LIEYERS" OF THE USA have been labeled to be IN REALITY!

Unfortunately, the Clintons are two of the worst of our species because they are two of the BIGGEST MORAL TURPITUDE to ever POTUS USA.

Said Slick Willie is a Rockefeller, and of course then we get the REPUBLICANS.

RIGHT THE CHRISTIANS!

Legal Schnauzer, the American JURISPRUDENCE was not prepared for the higher intelligence to walk-talk-read-write and even do ARITHMETIC Oh My GOD you devil you! Outing all the MORAL TURPITUDE.

I would bet Jessica is turning into a Rabbit and running with eyes spinning MORAL TURPITUDE STRANGELY Jessica's secret Rabbit Luther shared. What has been shared here, exactly?!

MORAL TURPITUDE, the infection has spread, call IT EBOLA!?

Into the toxic shame.

LEGAL SCHNAUZER BLOG: Your work commands the highest awards in USA!! Where is PRYOR BAD PUPPY MORAL TURPITUDE?

CHRISTIANS, slinging sleazy you know whats with TURDBLOSSOM ROVE!

How can the CHRISTIAN RIGHT, right the MORAL TURPITUDE WRONG, that has been an intentional institutionalized fraud to get what we got in 21 Century - GLOBALISM!

The world earth, however, has rejected the MORAL TURPITUDE, and thus, like Roger Schnauzer the whole of America gets thrown in jail absolutely no REAL LAW to do other than CRIMINAL INSANITY.

The people running Alabama are as criminally insane as the Project For a New American Century [PNAC], all paid with digital criminal fraud, agents of the same MORAL TURPITUDE GANG and world earth with a whimper before the BIG BANG: dust bin, HiStory.

Anonymous said...

Additionally, the United States has not been unbiased with its treatment of media that does not tow its policy line. US police harassed US-based Press TV crews this summer in Ferguson, Missouri.

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/10/20/382911/press-tv-reporter-victim-of-cia-black-op/

be careful schnauzer!

Anonymous said...

Not sure why you insist on approving crackpot word salad comments like @8:44, Roger. It just diminishes your credibility.

e.a.f. said...

I'd have to agree with Anonymous 10:51 p.m., Anonymous 8:44 does not lend itself to making this a serious blog.

I understand your reluctance to "censor" people on this blog. It is commendable to give those with no place to express themselves a place. However, the "best interests" of the blog might be best kept in mind, when reviewing comments.

Anonymous said...

Is it true that Jeff Sessions, while U.S. Attorney, quashed an active investigation of police corruption in Baldwin County?