SHOALS — Martin County Commissioners were presented with a conflict of interest statement from county Clerk John Hunt and his attorney, Fremont Pickett at Tuesday’s meeting.
In the statement filed on Sept. 19, Hunt said Judge Joseph Howell “has entered his office on numerous occasions and intruded upon the duties of the Clerk and the Clerk’s personnel.”
Tuesday’s statement contended that Howell had no jurisdiction by state law over any monies in the clerk’s office because he is not bonded. Pickett and Hunt also contend the judge has “no authority on any issue that is covered by the clerk’s bond in the clerk’s office.”
The statement asked the commissioners to issue a disclaimer order against Howell protecting Hunt and the county from any lawsuits stemming from delayed bond payments. They also asked the commissioners to stop Howell’s harassment of the employees in the clerk’s office.
The statement was in response to an incident on June 7 where Judge Howell ordered Hunt arrested on charges of contempt of court. The arrest stemmed from problems the clerk’s office was having over bond money being returned. The original citation charged that Hunt “failed to release and transfer bond proceeds as directed in separate orders in a timely manner.”
Hunt spent about two and a half hours in jail. At that time, Judge Howell said the clerk’s office was making it impossible for the court to function. Since March 24, few if any cases had been settled and bond money returned due to the backlog in the clerk’s office, Howell said in June.
Hunt was appointed clerk in January following the resignation of clerk Debbie Christmas. Following his appointment by a caucus of Democrat Precinct Committee persons, former Chief Deputy Clerk Linda Nolan filed suit charging the caucus was improperly conducted. On March 24, the court decided in Hunt’s favor allowing him to take over an office for which he had no experience and from which Nolan and the rest of the staff resigned. Since his appointment, Judge Howell had been notifying the county council, commissioners and Hunt that the clerk’s office wasn’t up to date fulfilling their duties as clerk of the courts.
The problem came to a head in June when Howell discovered that a former defendant who had posted a $750 bond upon her arrest, had not yet received the money she had coming to her after court and probation costs were subtracted.
Howell signed the order for her to receive her monies on May 15, and on May 31 Hunt signed a certification that his office had fully complied with Howell’s orders and her money returned. It hadn’t been returned however, and Sonya D. Holt called Howell’s office, complaining about not receiving her remaining bond money.
In investigating what had happened, Howell asked Hunt and his staff to come downstairs to the courtroom, and after charging the clerk, Hunt was arrested by Martin County Sheriff Tony Dant and incarcerated in the Martin County Security Center.
Howell also cited Hunt with falsely certifying he’d reimbursed Holt when she said the office had not yet returned her money. But after initially ordering Hunt to spend 48 hours in jail, he amended the order to serving two hours.
Because County Attorney David Lett was not at Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners acted on his advice not to discuss the order.
“We are without legal counsel and I will not proceed with this,” Commissioner President Mike Dant said.
The issue was tabled until the next commissioners’ meeting in October. Howell did not offer official comment because this was the first time he saw the statement and Hunt referred to the statement when asked for comment.
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