OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) – Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the ethics trial of Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard will make their final attempt to sway jurors Friday morning before the panel begins deliberating the fate of the Deep South Republican.
The lawyers, in the conclusion of closing arguments that began Thursday, are expected to offer dueling views of the 54-year-old Republican, portraying him as either: A greedy man who used the power of his office, sometimes ignoring the warnings of friends, in order to bring $2.3 million in business to his companies or a citizen legislator trying to earn a living and targeted by overzealous state prosecutors with a strident interpretation of the state ethics law.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations sometime Friday.
“Look at your notes and figure out, did at any point in time, did Mike Hubbard intentionally violate the law?” defense lawyer Lance Bell told jurors Thursday, adding that the answer was “no.”
A state prosecutor argued that Hubbard effectively put a “for sale” sign on his public office as he obtained consulting contracts for tens of thousands of dollars each month.