Smithwick found guilty of campaign violations

TALLADEGA Al.
Talladega County jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about an hour and a half Tuesday before finding Troy W. “Skip” Smithwick Jr. guilty of two violations of the Fair Campaign Practices Act.
Smithwick will be formally sentenced Nov. 2 by Talladega County Circuit Judge Julian King. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Smithwick is currently serving on the Sylacauga Board of Education, but in 2008, when the violations occurred, he was running against incumbent Stephanie Bell for state Board of Education. Smithwick lost to Bell in the Republican primary that year.
Candidates for public office are required to file an annual report with the Secretary of State’s Office showing all funds collected for the campaign and how they were spent. The annual report is due Jan. 31 of the year following the election.
Smithwick failed to file this form after losing the election. State board member Betty Peters initially called the Secretary of State’s Office and later the Attorney General’s Office to file a complaint against Smithwick and one other candidate.
A rebuttal witness from the Attorney General’s Office said that Smithwick was sent a letter telling him he was not in compliance, but that her office’s policy was not to send such letters by registered mail. Smithwick never acknowledged receiving the letter.
That fall, when Bell filed an additional complaint saying Smithwick had taken donations from other political action committees that had not been reported, Smithwick filed termination paperwork, dissolving his campaign. The final PAC contributions were listed on that report, which was substituted for the annual financial report. This was filed in October 2009, eight months past the deadline.
The failure to report a contribution charge seemed to stem from what most witnesses tended to agree was a clerical error. Smithwick accepted a $100,000 from what he thought was the Tennessee Valley PAC but was, in fact, The Real Democrat PAC. The check was endorsed and deposited by Smithwick’s wife before anyone realized the mistake. Amy Marlowe filled out the campaign paperwork indicating the source of the donation.
Smithwick said he did not know Peters was calling for an attorney general’s investigation until a friend alerted him to an article in the newspaper in Dothan that September. He said he was not aware of the PAC error until an investigator with the Attorney’s General’s Office showed him the check.
After deliberating for about 30 minutes, the jury came back with several questions, including “when was the defendant interviewed by the investigator?” “when was he indicted?” “did he have time to file an amended report before being indicted?” and “what are the penalties for counts one and two?”
King explained that punishment is only up to the court in this case, and the jury shouldn’t be concerned about that. As to the other questions, those involved facts testified to at trial, and the jurors would have to rely on their memories of the testimony. Highlighting certain parts of that testimony would not be appropriate.