Alabama attorney Beverly Barber joined me on the podcast in August 2024.
At the time, she was facing the wrath of a corrupt- my words- Alabama judge, Javan Patton.
Judge Patton was threatening Beverly with sanctions if Beverly did not share privileged information with the court.
It all stemmed from a case where Judge Patton flaunted due process and instead acted like a tyrant on the bench.
It’s likely that Judge Patton has acted in a very corrupt manner in this case, and she wants to know what Beverly has told cops, politicians and others about her.
The whole affair started when Beverly did some legal work for Mr. Mitchell, which, she told me, he refused to pay for.
So, she filed a lis pendens. A lis pendens, which was filed on Mitchell’s property, is a notice that a lawsuit is coming.
This, Mitchell contended, caused him great harm. It caused the sale of a big piece of property to go south.
So, he sued.
The court case was a sham, Beverly told me.
Judge Patton disallowed her request for a jury trial, and instead, Judge Patton ruled from the bench.
Days before the trial, Beverly found the buyer who told her that the sale fell apart because the property failed an inspection, not because of her lis pendens.
He was willing to testify, Beverly told me, only he lived more than ten hours away. Beveryly asked for a continuance, but she was denied that continuance.
Another witness reported being threatened. Judge Patton ordered Beverly to pay her former client- who never paid Beverly- approximately $2 million.
Beverly took her complaints all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court, always writing about the abuses in the case.
Unsurprisingly, in September 2024, Beverly was hit with a bar disciplinary complaint. I asked the bar for Beverly’s bar disciplinary history, and here’s what they provided.
The bottom of the document is important because Alabama judiciary rules forbid the bar from disclosing ongoing cases, but Beverly managed to practice law for more than two decades with no complaints. She faced one corrupt case, and suddenly, she is hit with a bar complaint.
Beverly believes Judge Patton is involved, and she’s being retaliated against for being a whistleblower. Here is part of a complaint Beverly filed.
The request submitted in writing was denied on October 14, 2024. Plaintiff has reason to believe that Defendant's actions are coordinated with Judge Javan Patton to silence Plaintiff's whistleblowing activities. This belief is based the formal charges that provides a narrative; yet fails to set out any viable act to warrant violation of a rule.
If she’s being targeted for being a whistleblower, Beverly will be the most recent attorney I have featured targeted in this way.
I recently featured Michelle MacDonald, who was also targeted after exposing judicial abuse in Minnesota.
In 2022, I wrote about the campaign against whistleblowing lawyers, including Leslie Ferderigos from Florida. She was targeted after challenging Dori Foster Morales, then the outgoing president of the Florida bar, in a child custody case.
As with the other cases, Beverly faces several dubious and vague charges. The bar claims she harassed a client by calling ATF. As Beverly explained, a client asked her to contact ATF because the client spotted explosives.
Beverly said the bar is also charging her with missing a court hearing, even though she can prove she was there.
Many people are upset because there are no honest lawyers who fight for them. Look to the bar disciplinary process. When honest lawyers fight, they usually feel its wrath.
Michael Volpe Investigates update: an Interview with Beverly Barber