Alabama Circuit Court Judge Marvin Wiggins has been suspended with pay from the bench after the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission filed charges against him that he threatened to throw defendants in jail who had no money to pay their fines unless they donated blood.
The charges were brought to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which could reprimand, suspend, or remove Wiggins from the bench. The commission brought the charges Jan. 8, but they were not made public until Friday.
J. Michael Joiner, chief judge of the Court of the Judiciary, on Friday granted a motion by Wiggins for an expedited hearing. The hearing has been set for Jan. 21.
Wiggins had asked for a hearing as soon as possible because under Alabama law he can’t act as a judge while the commission charges are pending.
No one went to jail and Wiggins’ and other judges are under pressure to collect fines, the judge’s attorney said. Wiggins admits he used “very poor language” in encouraging the defendants to donate blood, the attorney said.
Wiggins has served as a judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, serving Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry and Wilcox counties since 1999.
The Commission stated in its complaint that the incident happened on Sept. 17 during a “pay-due” docket in Perry County.
Wiggins, “while sitting on the bench and clothed in his judicial robe, violated the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics by threatening to incarcerate defendants who had ‘no money’ to pay their court-ordered financial assessments unless they ‘donated’ blood.”
The notices the defendants received did not include any warning of incarceration or that they would need an attorney, according to the commission complaint.
The complaint quotes from a recording made by one of the defendants:
“For your consideration, there’s a blood drive outside and if you do not have any money and you don’t want to go to jail, as an option to pay it, you can give blood today. If you do not have any money, go out there and give blood and bring in a receipt indicating you gave blood. Consider that as a discount rather than putting you in jail, if you do not have any money. So, if you do not have any money and you don’t want to go to jail, consider giving blood today and your receipt back, or the sheriff has enough handcuffs for those who do not have money.”
All but six of the 47 defendants who ended up donating blood at a mobile LifeSouth blood bank outside the Perry County Courthouse were made by defendants on Wiggins’ docket, according to the complaint.
“Judge Wiggins’ conduct regarding the incarceration of criminal defendants and his conduct in threatening to incarcerate those defendants who did not have ‘any money’ unless they gave blood were so coercive as to be reprehensible and inexcusable,” the complaint states.
The commission charges that Wiggins violated Canon 1 of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics which says a judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary. And a judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing, and should himself observe, high standards of conduct so that they integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved.
The Commission also charged that Wiggins violated Canon 2 which states a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities and that he should conduct himself at all times that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and avoid bringing the office into disrepute.
The Southern Poverty Law Center had filed a complaint against Perry County Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins and shared recordings from the court. Those recordings became national news.
Wiggins defended his actions to one news agency.
“We’re trying to find creative ways to help people pay their fees and expense,” Wiggins told the Alabama News Network.
“Because of our area, we know that the people don’t have the kind of income, the salaries to pay the fines and we have to collect them. So, as an option sometimes to paying the fine you may allow them to do community services.”
Wiggins is the second judge from the circuit facing the court of the judiciary.
Wilcox County District Court Judge Jo Celeste Pettway, who lays claim to being the first black woman to serve as a judge in Alabama, in October was suspended with pay, after a complaint was filed this week against her by the Judicial Inquiry Commission.
Pettway’s hearing before the court of the judiciary is also set for Thursday.
The Judicial Inquiry Commission complaint alleges Pettway was slow to rule on small claims cases, did not follow the law, has a disorganized court and is biased towards defendants – or debtors – in the small claims cases.
Like Wiggins’ statements, Pettway also mentioned the poor people in the Black Belt counties.
In a letter to the Judicial Inquiry Commission on Dec. 23, 2014 Pettway repeatedly acknowledged her bias in favor of the defendant debtors in small claims cases, the Pettway complaint states.
“I believe that if a person is willing to pay their debts, the lender can be patient and get their money,” the complaint says Pettway stated in the letter.
“Most of the people, who come before our court would probably be eligible to file bankruptcy and avoid paying their debts, but they want to pay, what they owe and as a judge, I believe I am obligated to work with all parties to give them an opportunity to pay their debts,” the complaint also cites from the judge’s letter.
This is not the first time Wiggins has been brought before the Court of the Judiciary.
In July 2009 Wiggins received a public reprimand and was ordered to serve 90 days without pay for ethics violations involving a voter fraud investigation that involved some of his relatives. The violations involved quashing an Attorney General subpoena and search warrant.
Although the subpoena did not directly involve his relatives, he knew that his relatives were being investigated, according to the court of the judiciary documents.
Wiggins’ attorney, Joel Sogol, responded to AL.com’s email request for comment on Saturday morning.
“The position Judge Wiggins finds himself in is a reflection of the position many judges in Alabama now find themselves in – how do deal with the pressure from AOC to collect fines, costs, and in the case of indigents, attorney’s fees,” Joel Sogol stated in his email. “‘Pay or Stay’ dockets are common across the State, whether run by local judges or the Office of Prosecutorial Services. Judge Wiggins, unlike many judges, has sought alternative ways for people to satisfy their financial requirements through community services.”
“It was never his intention to place anyone in jail, and in fact, no one went to jail from that docket, nor has anyone gone to jail from any other similar docket Judge Wiggins has presided over,” Sogol stated. “The law prohibits jailing indigents who are unable to pay these fees, but does not prohibit efforts to collect them.”
“Judge Wiggins has acknowledged he used very poor language in encouraging people to donate blood as a “community service” for which they would receive credit against what they owed,” Sogol stated.
“However, every Judge who has had a “pay or stay” docket has used the threat of jail as an incentive to get Defendants to make payments – the idea being pay or you will not be leaving. Judge Wiggins did not know about the blood drive until he came to Court that morning and was trying to find alternatives for those unable to make a payment. It is my hope that the end result of this case will reflect both his good intentions and his poor choice of words.”
“This situation should be a major concern to many judges across the State. AOC puts a great deal of pressure on them to collect these court costs,” Sogol stated
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/01/alabama_blood_or_jail_judge_su.html
Too fkng much for me…Stop it ur killin me.
A Vampire Judge.
No money, then we want your blood.
They might as well have Vincent Price wearing that black dress.
Hell throw Uncle Tom Clarence Thomas in there too!
He can be Blackula. Alongside the other Dracula judge parasites.
Unfkng believable blood suckers… literally. Blood sucking leeches.
and his punishment, of course, is a paid vacation:
“…Judge Marvin Wiggins has been suspended with pay..”
“No one went to jail and Wiggins’ and other judges are under pressure to collect fines, the judge’s attorney said.”
Helloooooo… THAT’S WHAT COURTS ARE DESIGNED TO DO!!!