MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss ethics charges against House Speaker Mike Hubbard and said Hubbard should be ready to go to trial in mid-May.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker rejected defense claims of prosecutorial misconduct in the case against the high-ranking Republican. The judge wrote that none of the accusations warranted dismissing the case.
The defense made multiple accusations against prosecutor Matt Hart, including that he called radio talk show hosts after Hubbard’s indictment and displayed vindictiveness in the office and in front of grand jurors about Hubbard.
Walker wrote that there was no evidence of leaks and said that nothing appeared to influence the grand jury’s decision to indict Hubbard.
The defense most recently had accused Hart of wrongly sharing information during frequent conversations with political operative Baron Coleman who worked for Hubbard’s 2014 primary opponent. Walker wrote that, after reviewing a 40-minute phone call Coleman recorded with Hart, it appeared Hart was investigating possible leaks, rather than “leaking” material to Coleman.