By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Criminally indicted State Representative Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, stood before Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III on Friday for his pretrial conference.
According to Rule 16 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure:
A pretrial conference is designed to improve the quality and speed of the trial and to discourage pretrial activities that are wasteful and unnecessary.
Once again, Moore’s attorneys sought additional Grand Jury transcripts, and their request was denied by Judge Walker.
According to a report filed by Drew Taylor of the Opelika-Auburn News, Moore’s attorney Joel Evan Dillard asked for additional Grand Jury transcripts to present “context of Moore’s testimony” before the Grand Jury.
Moore is charged with two felony counts of perjury and two felony counts of making false statements before the Lee county Grand Jury. The Grand Jury was impaneled a little over a year ago to investigate potential criminal activities by Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, and others.
These charges come from allegations that Moore made threatening statements to Josh Pipkin, leading up to the Republican primary in Enterprise. Pipkin recorded his conversations with Moore, and on those tapes, Moore can be heard communicating threats that he says were on behalf of Speaker Hubbard.
When Moore was asked before the Grand Jury if he had ever communicated such threats to Pipkin, he denied that he had. However, the tape recordings made of conversations between Moore and Pipkin paint a completely different picture.
At Friday’s pretrial conference, Moore’s famed attorney, Bill Baxley, was noticeably missing from the proceedings. Moore was represented by Baxley’s partner, Joel Evan Dillard and Dothan attorney, Derek Evan Yarbrough.
It was recently revealed that Baxley also represents Henry T. “Sonny” Reagan, the Deputy Attorney General who has been accused by Acting Attorney General W. Van Davis, of leaking Grand Jury information to individuals affiliated with those who are under indictment or under investigation in Lee County. Many “top flight” attorneys have pointed to a serious conflict of interest by Baxley for representing both men.
According to the Opelika-Auburn News, Judge Walker denied Moore’s request for more Grand Jury transcripts. Moore’s attorneys also requested copies of text messages that they believe to exist between Pipkin and Moore and between Pipkin and Wiregrass Economic Development Executive Director Jonathan Tullos.
State’s prosecutor Michael Brian Duffey said that he was unaware of any text messages. Lead investigator and white collar crimes chief, Matt Hart, called Moore’s request “Fishing.”
Judge Walker ruled that Pipkin should hand over any text messages, if they still existed.
Jury selection will begin the week of the twentieth, with the trial set to began in Judge Walker’s court on October 27.
The trial is expected to last two days.
