The first possibly corrupted child support cases from the Talladega County are making their way through the court now, and so far the judge hearing them is pleased with the progress. Here’s an article about it from the Daily Home.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Drayton Nabers had appointed District Judge Bill Hereford to help with the crushing volume of cases that need to be re-heard. Hereford heard 60 of the cases yesterday. “It was a good day,” Hereford said. “We called 60 cases, and we continued just a few them. We had seven people that got locked up for contempt, but aside from that, we got agreements with most of the parties. I’m pleased, and I think we will get all of these old cases resolved.”
The story quotes Hereford as speculating that one of the contributing caujses to the breakdown in Talladega County is the crushing load of child support cases. “Sometimes you’re just pumping that volume so hard, some things fall by the wayside.”
In a statement that will warm the hearts of Alabama lawyers everywhere who represent NCPs in child support cases, Hereford expressed concern about the perception that DHR is running the process instead of the judge. “I’m still a little worried about the perception of this being a DHR court, however. That’s one reason I called the docket myself. DHR is a party in these proceedings. But we’ve all got to work together to get this situation resolved.”