Day Four of Louise Alexander trial

Day Four of the trial of Bessemer Councilwoman Louise Alexander ended with a long list of meaningless and boring defense witnesses that wasted everybody's time.

Circuit Judge Teresa Petelos seemed to be as bored as the jurors were with witnesses who said Alexander did a lot of gift-giving. Well, okay.

But there was raw meat in the early part of the afternoon as the defense put its ethics "expert" on the stand and he basically refuted the morning's "expert" supplied by the state.

U.W. Clemon, the ex-federal judge, brought in one of his former clerks, state Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Choy to testify.

Choy said the commission looked at the records presented after an investigation and he felt — according to the statute — that Alexander did not violate the law regarding the charge of soliciting money or using money for personal gain.

That's when it got interesting. Prosecutor Bill Lisenby reminded Choy that he had voted to find probable cause to refer the case for prosecution.

Choy got hot and Petelos had to remind him several times that he was called as a witness and not as an attorney.

The case, which looked like it could go well into next week, could actually wrap up tomorrow, highlighted by Alexander testifying on her own behalf.

—Tribune staff report