In the state of Alabama from late August to mid January, it’s simply all about their college football. Football is everything in the state and nothing short of a disaster will get in the way.
Deadspin via The Birmingham News is reporting that a judge in Alabama is delaying an important civil trial, so one of the attorneys in the case, Marcus Jones III, can attend the BCS championship game between the Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish January 7.
Marcus Jones had assumed he would not be able to attend the ball game because his first attempt to have the trial delayed was denied.
Jones is a self-described Alabama “fanatic,” since the early 60’s when his father took him to his first ballgame. He said he still has a beer can Joe Namath drank from at a bar the night it was announced the star Alabama quarterback would be joining the Jets.
Jones was ecstatic when he found out he could get tickets to the Jan 7th game, but then had to go through the process of having a judge delay the civil trial until his return.
On December 6, Jones asked presiding Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Scott Vowell to continue the trial until after January 7.
When explaining his motion for continuance, Jones told the judge that he waited so close to the trial to ask for a continuance “due to superstition and the uncertainty of how the season would play out.”
Judge Vowell finally gave Jones his delay and gave this reasoning for it.
“myself and other judges had postponed trials or hearings for fan-lawyers with Alabama’s national championship game in 2010 and the Auburn national championship game held in January 2011.
“In both cases, I continued one trial which was set for the same week as the games in order for the attorney-fan to attend the game.”
“Knowing one of the lawyers in this case, Marcus Jones, to be an avid Roll-Tider, I thought that the case would settle if I kept it on the docket of January 7,” Vowell explained of his original denial of Jones’ motion. “The case went to mediation but it did not settle. I have a strict continuance policy and it helps keeps the docket current.”
Not sure what to say about this, except ROLL DAMN TIDE.