Wednesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) announced that Colbert County attorney William “Billy” Underwood pleaded guilty to jury tampering rather than continuing with a trial that began earlier in the morning.
Underwood was sentenced to serve four months in jail. He was further required to permanently surrender his license to practice law in the State of Alabama.
Underwood was convicted for contacting a potential juror on a civil case and attempting to influence him about the outcome of that case. The potential juror realized that this conversation was blatantly illegally so recorded the conversation and turned the recording over to authorities.
Agents of the State Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the person with whom Underwood spoke was a potential juror in Colbert County Circuit Court.
“It is disgraceful that this defendant, an officer of the court sworn to uphold justice, instead attempted to instigate a miscarriage of justice,” said Attorney General Marshall. “An impartial jury is essential to the integrity and fairness of our judicial process in America in which our citizens must be able to trust. Because of the honesty of the person this defendant tried to corrupt, the outcome of that case was not affected. However, Mr. Underwood’s attempt to do so is a betrayal of the people and a serious crime. It is appropriate that he will serve jail time and will never again practice law in the State of Alabama.”
The Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Colbert County grand jury, which returned an indictment against Underwood in January 2018.
After the indictment, the Alabama State Bar suspended his license to practice law in Alabama.
Attorney General Marshall thanked the State Bureau of Investigation of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency for its investigation. Marshall also commended Assistant Attorneys General John Kachelman and Tara Ratz of with the AG’s Criminal Trials Division for bringing the case to a successful conclusion.
Steve Marshall was appointed Attorney General in 2017 by then-Gov. Robert Bentley. In 2018 Marshall was elected Attorney General. Marshall previously served as the District Attorney of Marshall County.
