Special to the Opelika Observer
Attorney General Steve Marshall issued the following statement Friday in response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision to uphold six counts of former Speaker Mike Hubbard’s conviction.
“Today, the Alabama Supreme Court delivered its opinion in the case of former speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, Mike Hubbard,” Attorney General Marshall said. “The court’s decision reflects what we have argued from the beginning: Mike Hubbard’s actions were corrupt and betrayed the public trust. It is well past time for Mike Hubbard to serve the time he has so richly earned.
“While I am pleased that the Supreme Court agreed that former Speaker Hubbard broke the law and will be held accountable for his abuse of power, I am also disappointed in the court’s interpretation of Alabama’s ethics law concerning the definition of a principal. While I can live with the court’s insistence on a clearer definition of principal, going forward, that definition must also be strong.
“This case was not just a trial of former Speaker Hubbard’s misconduct, but also a test of our ethics law. Mr. Hubbard campaigned in 2010 on the message that Alabama ‘sorely needed’ a stronger ethics law. As a state, we must now ask ourselves a serious question: Do we want the type of behavior that Hubbard got away with to be illegal? If the answer is yes, then legislative action is again sorely needed and we must commit to strengthening our ethics law,” Marshall concluded.
Attorney General Marshall commended members of his staff, including Solicitor General Edmund LaCour, Assistant Attorney General Kyle Beckman, Deputy Attorney General James Houts, and many others whose hard work over many years made this victory possible.