Judge Smithart Attempts To Mislead FBI and Attorney General, Officer Describes Large Scale Drug Network operating from Barbour County

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Posted by: Jon B. Carroll
Date: Feb 14 2015 10:15 AM

Currently two very serious, and unrelated judicial ethics Will Dickerson complaints, are before the State’s Judicial Inquiry Commission concerning the current presiding circuit court judge of Barbour county, Leon “Burt” Smithart.

It has come to my attention that in an act of what can at best be described as political tail covering, or worse, a willful attempt to mislead authorities, Judge Smithart has sent a letter to the FBI, US Attorney, Attorney General, and ABI. (I have enclosed a copy of that letter below.)

I want to respectfully redirect the judge’s attention to the facts of the complaint not his personal attempt to cover his derrière.

In Judge Smithart’s letter he is, after being forced to remove himself from the case of former Alabama football player Will Dickerson, as a matter of law, and being the subject of a two formal judicial complaints, attempting to mislead the public about the facts.

In the letter he sent the FBI, note carefully how he wrote it Feb 3, 2015, 6 days after the formal complaint was submitted and investigation initiated. Also note he is faxing it directly to the media (Rebecca Beasley-Clayton Record) and,

MOST IMPORTANTLY HE FAILS TO ADDRESS ANY OF THE ISSUES IN THE COMPLAINT.

Judge Smithart claims he is asking for a investigation because of how a community news site has accused him of “criminal acts”.

Let me help you a bit Judge….the focus is the formal judicial ethics complaint that was filed and accepted by the State's Judicial Inquiry Commission, 5 days previous to your panicked letter. Nothing more.

It is worth noting you failed to mention to the FBI, Attorney General, US Attorney and ABI that complaint and the allegations contained within it, and most importantly, the supporting documentation signed by Circuit Clerk David Nix that substantiates the charges. (see attached documents below) My articles, as you describe them, refer to that complaint and the allegations and evidence included in it.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO TRY TO MISLEAD THE PUBLIC JUDGE ? IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WOORRY ABOUT.

There are four key points that the Alabama Justice Project is concerned with that, if you are guilty of, should result in you being removed from the bench and criminally prosecuted. Those are,

A chief juvenile probation officer is willing to testify that on multiple occasions you contacted her and made inappropriate comments. On one occasion, specifically concerning Will Dickerson, and on another, threatening to “straighten her out”. She countered by telling you while on a speakerphone in front of witnesses, she would be happy to meet you with Rickey Stokes on one side and myself on the other. I won’t write the epitaph you shouted in response before you hung up.

Per her statement, you made these, while you, in your capacity of presiding circuit court judge, had a pending case regarding Mr Dickerson before your court. The second comment you made is alleged to have been made while he was incarcerated on the current murder charge that is awaiting trial. This is very disturbing. I cannot speak to your heart at the time, nor what you meant, but it certainly isn’t what a sitting judge should be doing and you know it.

However, what is even more important is that the Canon of Judicial Ethics, of which you are forced to follow as a matter of law, forbids you to comment on such matters. It states,

Canon 3(A)(6): “A judge should abstain from public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court . . .

You sir have either violated this rule or you have not. Both of you need to be put under oath and asked the hard questions, and any witnesses that were present, or audio surveillance recordings played of the alleged statements.

If you said them Judge Smithart, you need to resign from the bench, in my opinion. Its that simple.

2. The second point in the complaint concerns the narrow legal definition of a “terrorist threat”. The law states,

Alabama Criminal Code, Section 13A-10-15 – Terrorist threats.

A person commits the crime of making a terrorist threat when he or she threatens by any means to commit any crime of violence or to damage any property by doing any of the following:
(1) Intentionally or recklessly:

a. Terrorizing another person.
b. Causing the disruption of school activities.
c. Causing the evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation, or other serious public inconvenience.
(2) With the intent to retaliate against any person who:

a. Attends a judicial or administrative proceeding as a witness or party or produces records, documents, or other objects in a judicial

proceeding.
b. Provides to a law enforcement officer, adult or juvenile probation officer, prosecuting attorney, or judge any information relating to the

commission or possible commission of an offense under the laws of this state, of the United States, or a violation of conditions of bail,

pretrial release, probation, or parole.
(b) The crime of making a terrorist threat is a Class C felony.

I think its obvious from your alleged statements, if they are proven true, you had a bias towards Mr Dickerson. I cannot speak as to whether this is evidence of intent on your part and that it affected any of the subsequent proceedings. But if this is true, there should be evidence of you willfully ignoring the law in your capacity as judge and in a manner that violated Mr. Dickerson’s rights. From an investigative perspective I would respectfully submit to the Attorney General, US Attorney, FBI, as well as Ms. Vanita Gupta, the Asst. Attorney General at the US Dept of Justice, that I believe there is compelling evidence of how the case against Mr Dickerson has been handled in a manner that violated the law. One only has to review the documents of the case carefully to discern multiple violations of law. If this is true, you need to be removed from the bench and criminally prosecuted.

3. The third complaint you failed to address or answer is that your actions on how you have handled the Dickerson case exhibit a lack of faithfulness to the law and competence. The canon of judicial ethics states the following,

Canon 3(A)(1) – “Lack of Faithfulness to the Law and Failure of Professional Competence.”

In my unlearned opinion Judge Smithart, you appear to be incompetent. Of note, on Feb 13, 2013, court records reveal that you issued a court order that forced the district attorney, Ben C. Reeves to allow Mr. Dickerson to "inspect and examine the evidence to be used against him and access to the discovery documents".

Years later of course, and a mere ten days before his trial, we learn that this order, as well as multiple other court orders issued by you, were not followed, nor was anyone ever held in contempt. Nor is there any evidence you ever checked to see if your orders were followed. This occurred in a capital murder trial where a man could potentially lose his life and you sir were the judge in charge of the case. In my unlearned opinion, and as a poor cowman, no fancy lawyer, just a average concerned citizen, you have exhibited gross incompetence and this is evidence of a serious miscarriage of justice.

The documents signed by you and Circuit Court Clerk David Nix are either accurate, or they or not. If they are, I submit that you appear to be unfit to proceed as a judge. Per the Canon of judicial ethics, let me remind you and the public, this is a matter of law that you must follow.

Stay focused on the facts of the complaints filed against you Judge Smithart to the Judicial Inquiry Commission and please answer those questions, no other fantasies you have or ramblings to misdirect the public's attention.

No one that I know of has ever accused you of murdering witnesses. I strongly advise you that if you really believe this, then you need to get a psychological evaluation immediately.

There is one thing though in your letter that is very interesting to me. You stated in point 4 that you were accused of “participating in a drug enterprise”.

For the record, the Dickerson case is about the robbery and murder of one of Barbour county’s more successful up and coming drug dealers. In this robbery it is alleged between 40 and 80 thousand dollars was stolen, as well as narcotics that mysteriously vanished into thin air while the victim’s car was in the possession of the Barbour County Sheriff’s department. There is irrefutable evidence that law enforcement officials planted and manufactured evidence. I do not think this was by accident, or the result of incompetence. In my opinion, it was methodically planned and executed. The only question is by whom, and for what purpose did it serve. It is my opinion, as a former licensed investigator assigned to the case, this is an organized narcotics network.

Additionally Judge Smithart, since you felt compelled to bring this up to the FBI, US Attorney, the Attorney General, and ABI, I fully agree with you this should be methodically investigated.

Just remember Burt, for the record it is you alone, through your letter to the Attorney General, US Attorney, FBI, and ABI, who publicly opened up this can of worms.

That said, as a matter of public record, I want to share an affadavit that contains a statement from the most experienced drug task force officer the county has ever had. Just read his words, and I will forward a copy directly to the Attorney General Luther Strange, Tim Rodgers of the ABI, and the FBI office in Mobile, as well as the DEA, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Dept of Justice. I have only one question in regards to it.

Is this law enforcement officer telling the truth. If so, we have a very serious problem.

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