A Mobile attorney was held in contempt Friday after a judge found that she caused a subpoena to be served on a defense lawyer in front of jurors during an active murder trial, placing the proceedings in jeopardy, according to court records.
Attorney Christine Hernandez sent process server and bail bondsman Edward Stokely Jr. to the Mobile County Courthouse on Nov. 18 to serve attorney Chase Dearman with a subpoena. Dearman was in court that day preparing to deliver closing arguments for Frederick Knight, who was on trial for felony murder and first-degree robbery, according to a contempt citation filed by Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Wesley Pipes.
Hernandez, known for representing the (now divorced) lesbian couple who successfully challenged Alabama’s same-sex marriage law, was representing a former employee of Dearman who had been accused of stealing from him.
During a break in Knight’s trial, Stokely served Dearman in the hallway outside the courtroom, where jurors were gathered because of COVID-19 protocols. Judge Pipes found that the subpoena was served in front of the jury “intentionally and for no good reason,” noting that jurors were wearing blue stickers identifying them as members of the panel.
The judge said there was no reasonable way Stokely could have been unaware that he was serving Dearman in front of jurors.
“There can be no conclusion other than [Stokely] intentionally served the subpoena in front of them,” Pipes wrote, adding that even if Stokely did not intend to prejudice Knight, his actions threatened to do exactly that and placed the trial directly in jeopardy.
Dearman moved for a mistrial, arguing that jurors could have been confused by the subpoena, questioned his ethics, or wrongly believed he was facing some kind of criminal charge.
Following the mistrial motion, Knight reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The first-degree robbery charge was dropped.