The Missing D.A.
Readers have sent email asking about “the missing D.A.” Forty-one of 42 district attorneys in the state approved a statement criticizing Attorney General Troy King for publicly taking a capital murder case from Shelby County D.A. Robby Owens. (BTW, you may be interested in the analysis of this story by Phillip Rawls for AP.)
Who was the missing one? The Montgomery Advertiser has it:
A spokesman for the District Attorneys Association said the only district attorney who did not approve the statement criticizing King was Houston County prosecutor Doug Valeska, whose brother is a veteran employee of the attorney general’s office.
Valeska stands on his own principle. Or he stands with family. Or he saw what King did to Tony Castaldo. And Robby Owens.
Related Articles:
That explains it. Thanks, Danny.
Comment by Kathy — September 19, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
[…] ADDENDUM: You may remember that 41 of 42 District Attorneys signed on to the Association’s request that King apologize to Robby Owens. The Montgomery Advertiser (by way of Danny) identifies the lone holdout as “Houston County prosecutor Doug Valeska, whose brother is a veteran employee of the attorney general’s office”. Gee, I can’t imagine why he might be afraid to go against Troy. […]
Pingback by Birmingham Blues » Blog Archive » Troy King: The Gift That Keeps On Giving — September 19, 2007 @ 12:55 pm
Doug Valeska is from Dothan, and he is “extreme.” Doug Valeska is the Troy King of the wiregrass. He has a reputation of playing politics with the criminal justice system also. He “grandstands” all the time, especially when the person is “poor” they are easy prey for a individual like him!
Comment by Pookie — September 19, 2007 @ 1:15 pm
Birds of a feather? Back in 2003, the Decatur Daily wrote: “His
bosses praise his aggressiveness, but defense attorneys say
Assistant Attorney General Don Valeska is a rogue prosecutor
who has withheld key evidence for decades.”
[and cost the taxpayers money in mistrials and new trials]
In May of this year, when granting a new murder trial, Morgan
County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson stated: “This court found
that the actions of Assistant Attorney General Valeska representing the state of
Alabama were so egregious that the only appropriate remedy under the law and the facts was to dismiss the charges pending against the defendant.”
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/070508/liar.shtml
Comment by Helen — September 19, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
Thanks’ Helen for posting that article. I had not seen it, and probably would have never known that it existed. It needs to be brought to the attention of the people of the of Houston county that keep re-electing this “extremist.”
Comment by Pookie — September 19, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
The Flying Valeskas!
(A Troy King Prouction)
Comment by Roy — September 19, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
The 41 of the 42 is incorrect. There have been different numbers thrown out and exploited
by the media. I was at the press conference and I would LOVE to see the signed statement/
petition because a few of the supposed “41″ are saying that they never signed or said
anything. Do you know how we can get a copy of this? I am checking with our county DA
to see if he was in support of this just to see if his name was thrown in there too.
Comment by thuntj — September 19, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
Thuntj, thank you for your comment. What different numbers have been thrown out? The story linked above states that leaders of the Alabama District Attorneys Association say that 41 of 42 DA’s approved the statement. Do you know this to be false? What DA’s are saying that they did not approve the statement? That would be helpful info.
If the number given the media is incorrect then I would venture to say that the media are not exploiting the numbers, but that the media have been exploited (or at least misled).
Thanks!
Comment by Danny — September 19, 2007 @ 4:59 pm
I am working on a list of those that say they were not a part of it, either did not want
to be involved, didn’t sign the statement, or had no opinion.
In the news video I only count 28 from Monday.
I will post those names hopefully tommorrow as most of them have left their
offices today. You could be correct that the media has been misled to believe that these
attorneys were all in support of Robbie Owens. the names will be helpful in proving this
point so I will provide that to you as soon as I can.
Comment by thuntj — September 19, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
FWIW, the reports didn’t say that 41 DA’s were in attendance at the State House steps. They said that 41 of 42 DA’s approved the statement. The reports I saw said that thirty DA’s gathered on the steps of the State House to demand that King apologize.
Comment by Danny — September 19, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
thuntj — I am sure that YOU, random dude on the internet have THE PROOF these DAs weren’t part of it. I am going to believe the DAs Association on this one, unless you want to post scanned copies, that are notarized.
Comment by Anonymous — September 19, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
[…] In an interesting twist, Blues reader Helen pointed out over at Danny’s that Houston County DA Doug Valeska, the lone dissenting DA, is the brother of Assistant AG Don Valeska, who is not exactly known for his high ethical standards and commitment to justice. He has long been suspected of withholding evidence from defense attorneys in criminal cases, and in 2003 he was caught, resulting in an overturned capital murder conviction. Circuit Court Judge Glenn Thompson on March 21 [2003] overturned the capital murder conviction of Daniel Wade Moore and granted him a new trial after concluding the Valeska-led prosecution withheld key evidence from the defense. Allegations of similar conduct have followed 59-year-old Valeska throughout his career… […]
Pingback by Birmingham Blues » Blog Archive » Surprise, Surprise: Troy’s Still Not Apologizing — September 19, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
My shenanigans senses are starting to tingle regarding certain comments made here.
Comment by ALmod — September 20, 2007 @ 10:33 am
LOL… ALmod… I would be interested in what your shenanigans senses are telling you.
Anonymous in 11, you were a bit more direct than I was, but I am with you in that I would need something pretty concrete to convince me that the report was wrong.
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 10:38 am
dEAR ANONYMOUS: I would LOVE to see the scanned copies please post it here that would prove 41 signed the statement
and sided with Robbie Owens, that is a good project for you. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find anyone who has
copy of this (which makes me believe even more that the number is incorrect) so if anyone does I would love to see it,
then and ONLY then will I believe that 41 of the 42 were against Troy King. I am VERY curious if this is true. Can
someone provide this? I don’t have the list yet complied of the DA’s saying they did not have an opinion etc. but I
am trying to compile one by speaking with the Da’s this would make it SO much easier if someone has a NOTARIZED as (anonymous) wants scanned copy of the signed statements or list.
Comment by thuntj — September 20, 2007 @ 10:39 am
thuntj, I never saw any news report that indicated there was one document signed by 41 DA’s. Good luck with that!
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 10:50 am
Okay if there were 30 present opposing Troy King then how did they come up with 41, If they weren’t present
then did they sign a statement to oppose in their absence? I’m just trying to figure how they know the other 11
Da’s are against it. Do you know?
Comment by thuntj — September 20, 2007 @ 10:57 am
You do not have to be present to approve a statement.
??
Phones, faxes, email… there are a lot of ways to say that a statement is okay by you and that you approve.
I believe that the DA’s Association has enough credibility that they would not say that 41 DA’s approve a statement unless they had checked it out. However, if you found one (besides Valeska) that said he should not have been included in the 41, then you’d have a story.
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 11:11 am
YEah, Danny is spot on. Unlike random people from the internet, the DA’s Association has a lot of credibility.
And, ALL you have to do is produce a document, or get the ones who don’t agree to call their own press conference. If you know them so well, you should be able to get this done for the weekend news cycle.
I have to admit a certain part of me would like to see a three way brawl on this.
Comment by Anonymous — September 20, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Dear Anonymous, I NEVER said I knew the DA’s what the heck are you on dope or something? What I said was I wanted to
know if all 41 were in support of Robbie Owens. I called the DA Association and they were contact by phone, so there
is not a statement to present to prove they were for or against it. Therefore, the issue is dead in the water
on my end.
Comment by thuntj — September 20, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
Let’s see if I have this straight. On Monday, the District Attorneys Association holds a press conference where the Association head says 41 of 42 members approved a statement requesting an apology from Troy King. The Association’s spokesperson identifies the lone dissenter as Houston County DA Doug Valeska. On Wednesday, thuntj alleges that “a few of the supposed ‘41′ are saying that they never signed or said anything”, although s/he doesn’t name names or provide a source. Now it’s Thursday, and not one of these other supposed dissenters has called a reporter or issued a press release expressing his or her opposition to the statement. You’re right, thuntj, the issue is dead in the water.
Comment by Kathy — September 20, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
Kathy,
I was told Wed. 9-19 that several of the DA’s had told Troy Kings office that they knew nothing of the fact,
Now names were thrown out but I didn’t write them down.
The DA’s that I have personally spoke with said they NEVER signed anything but some were aware of it.
One state he believe that the “Republicans” handled it all wrong. (Their statement not mine)
As I said before, I spoke with the DA’s Association and there is not a signed list, the DA’s were called.
They didn’t know the count on the number of attorneys called only the ones present,
so hence, why in my opinion it is dead in the water. Good point though on them calling a press conference,
that’s personally what I would do if I was included and didn’t agree. We plan on meeting with Robbie, It’s always
better to talk directly to the source if you want answers.
Comment by thuntj — September 20, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
Kathy: From the Birmingham News article today… Read the first line very closely!
“Forty-one of the state’s 42 district attorneys called Monday called for King to apologize. Among their complaints was King’s lack of experience as a prosecutor.
Comment by Pookie — September 20, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
Pookie, fwiw, I believe you are addressing the wrong person. Thuntj was the one who was questioning the # of prosecutors, not Kathy.
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
No, I was just wanted Kathy to know that it was in fact validated, as to the person you are referring to, their mind is already made up… sorry for the confusion…
Comment by Pookie — September 20, 2007 @ 2:38 pm
error in post… corrected:
No, I just wanted Kathy to know that it was in fact validated, as to the person you are referring to, their mind is already made up… sorry for the confusion…
Comment by Pookie — September 20, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Aha… got it. Thanks.
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
Am told that Troy Boy sent out a letter to all of the hometown papers blasting their local DAs for standing with Robby Owen
and murderers. Now, I don’t know who is whispering in Troy’s ear, but he isn’t getting good advice. 41 of 42 local, well
respected DAs have the next 3 years to just blast him each and every day to anyone who will listen. Lets see who all
Troy has taken on over the last few years: Troy vs. Ethics Commissioner; Troy vs. DAs; Troy vs. Editorial Boards (all
of them) and indirectly Troy vs. Riley. Just have to assume he isn’t running for office in 2010.
Comment by Anonymous — September 20, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
One rumor around the State House is that King has cancelled the AG’s office subscription to any newspaper critical of him. I guess they won’t be receiving any newspapers for a while after this mess!
Comment by Ronald Bass — September 20, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Anonymous in 28, I have heard many saying much the same thing as you are saying. But I’ve also heard the argument that ultimately the Robbie Owens episode will help King in his next campaign. I wonder if so many people are misreading what this really does to King’s chances in his next election. In fact, I have posted on it.
Comment by Danny — September 20, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
thuntj:
Nobody ever said that 41 district attorneys SIGNED the statement. They said that 41 d.a.’s approved it. It’s easy enough to see if any didn’t approve the statement. Now that we know the one who stood by Troy King, surely at least one more out of 42 will step forward in King’s defense and say that the reports were all wrong– that at least two did not approve the statement. Surely an attorney of all people would not want to be misrepresented and would know his legal right to challenge such. And quite frankly, I have no reason to believe that your own findings are correct unless you yourself can show some form of written proof. At least with written publications and associations, they are held to a certain standard of accuracy. Otherwise, they risk being sued. As a fairly anonymous blog commenter, you are not held to that same standard. So forgive me if I lean a bit more toward believing the newspaper and the DAA first.
To the Anonymous poster above:
I have one more to add to your list. Troy vs. The Voters of Argo, AL. He stood right beside and shook hands at a public event with town leaders who were themselves APPOINTED to elected positions and who were suing to stop a vote of the people.
Danny:
I am very vaguely referring to our old friend (I can’t remember his name) who used to post comments to every blog post regarding King. He started out by posting under different identities so as to mislead that there was a huge following behind King. It started to sound a bit fishy before, but then I read one of Dan’s posts today about King parading victims and such. It got me to thinking that certain posters here have changed their personality dramatically from comment to comment. At first, they were a distraught family member. Then they sound like a campaign manager or press secretary. Then they get defensive and a little bit mean. It all just seems a bit fishy, and it doesn’t exactly strike me as the personality of a grieving parent. Not to mention, this person seems to be awfully comfy and close with the AG to be your average Joe. We know how King loves to use his disposable victims, and I do mean disposable. And we all know how much his lackeys love to pose as other people in blog comments. I’m just wondering if it’s possible to combine the two, or if it could even be a little bit of both. I could of course be wrong in my suspicion, and it could be neither.
Comment by ALmod — September 20, 2007 @ 5:50 pm