Judge Shashy dosn't know his own state laws, and asks both sdes for help

Judge will not remove 4 trustees from A&M
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

MONTGOMERY - A judge Tuesday refused to throw four new Alabama A&M University trustees off the board, but the issue is far from dead.

Circuit Judge William Shashy of Montgomery asked attorneys for examples of Alabama law covering other state colleges and boards that support their arguments.

Shashy asked for the information within five days, but he isn't expected to issue a ruling for several weeks.

Troy Massey, a Montgomery attorney, is suing Gov. Bob Riley and his four appointees because the Senate Confirmations Committee unanimously rejected their nominations in May.

The four returned to the board by Riley were David Slyman Jr. of Huntsville; Leroy Richie of Birmingham, Mich.; Mayor Edward May of Bessemer; and the Rev. Willie Clyde McNeil of Chatom.

After the Legislature had adjourned, Riley simply reappointed the four in June.

Massey said Riley's second letter appointing the four trustees after the session had ended was "contrary to the law and violated the statute."

Riley's appointees were in the majority when the board fired former Alabama A&M President Robert Jennings in March.

The lawsuit by Massey, a former A&M trustee, is seeking an injunction that would remove the four from the board and permanently prohibit them from serving.

"We've got people appointed to serve on our board who have been rejected by the Senate," Massey said. "That creates problems in terms of insurance, bond issues, refinancing bond issues, hiring personnel ..."

Sonny Reagan, Riley's deputy legal adviser, initially argued that Massey's clients, Robert Hughes of Florence, a former A&M trustee, and David Marzette of Birmingham, the financial secretary of Alabama A&M's National Alumni Association, had no legal standing to sue because they had suffered no harm.

About two dozen Alabama A&M alumni and supporters, some from as far away as Chicago, attended Tuesday's hearing.

Earlier, Shashy had denied a motion by the office of Ken Wallis, Riley's legal adviser, to postpone Tuesday's hearing because Wallis was in London.

"If I were Mr. Ken Wallis, I'd be out of the country, too, because I wouldn't want to be making these arguments for the governor's position," said Massey.

He called his case "clear, simple and precise," adding, "There are no ambiguities. They were appointed in February and they were rejected in May, so they were trustees for four or five months."

Massey said a state law that applies specifically to Alabama A&M states when the Senate committee rejected the governor's appointees, it created four unique vacancies on the board.

The Senate committee's action created vacancies that cannot be filled until new appointees are confirmed by the Senate, said Massey.

"It is clear upon its face. It's not unclear; it's not ambiguous," he said of the law. "It's only four lines. There's nothing wrong with it. There's no reason why anyone couldn't follow this statue."

The four reappointed by Riley shortly after the Legislature adjourned would face the same Confirmations Committee again in the 2009 legislative session.

Reagan noted there are two state laws covering appointments to the Alabama A&M board. He said the most recent, approved by the Legislature in 1995, should prevail over the older one cited by Massey.The 1995 law explains in much more detail the creation and composition of the board, such as representation from congressional districts, at-large members, ex-officio members and those who must hold degrees from A&M.

"Our position is that these statutes are in conflict with each other and because this (1995 law) is the most recent version of the legislative intent that this should control when the two statues are in conflict," he said.

Reagan also noted the four nominees were not rejected by the full Senate - only eight members of the 16-member committee.

But Massey added, "The one word they (Riley's attorneys) stay away from is rejection because they're not comfortable discussing it. Because once they were rejected by the Senate, it's like when a bill doesn't make it to the floor of the House, it's dead. Those appointments were dead."

After the Senate committee voted to reject the appointees, Chairman Myron Penn, D-Union Springs, said the panel was sending a message that it was best for Riley to select a new slate of nominees.

Penn said the appointees were rejected due to divisions among the university's alumni, faculty and students because Riley's appointees were instrumental in firing Jennings at the end of March.

(SOURCE) The AAMU Alumni president posted to AAMUFAMILY LIST, an article written by BOB LOWRY of the Huntsville Times