Jim Zeigler
Encyclopedia
Jim Zeigler is an elder care attorney, author, and seminar leader in Alabama
. He wrote the 2007 book, "Don't Let the Government take Grandma's Home and Life Savings.". He wrote the 2010 book, "Veterans Aid and Attendance Kit." He is nationally-certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs
as an Accredited Veterans Attorney
The native of Sylacauga, Alabama
(1948) was raised in the Sylacauga suburb of Oak Grove
where his father, Bloise Zeigler, became a 20-year Mayor.
In 1970, Zeigler was elected President of the Student Government Association of the University of Alabama
, defeating the controversial political organization "The Machine
."
He was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission
where he served 1975-79. After serving one term on the PSC, Zeigler did not run for re-election. He later ran for state supreme court, state treasurer, civil appeals court, and state auditor, losing each by a narrow margin. He thus earned the nickname "Mr. 49%."
He now (2010) has an elder care law practice representing seniors and veterans in protecting assets and gaining eligibility for elder care costs. He is 2010 state chairman of the League of Senior Voters.
in 1972 with a degree in public administration and minor in journalism. He was President of the Mallet Assembly
, a student honors program with a colorful history of political activism. He was in one of the last classes to actually live in the original Mallet Hall dormitory.
Student politics at the University has been dominated since 1914 by a semi-secret political party called "The Machine
." In 1968 Zeigler and other students founded an anti-Machine party called "The Coalition." They succeeded in electing Zeigler President of the Student Government Association (SGA) in 1970, his being one of the few UA students to defeat The Machine.
In 1971, on the night the Student Court had thrown out an attempt by Student Senators who were members of The Machine to impeach Zeigler as SGA President, his dormitory room in Mallet Hall burned. The cause of the fire was never determined.
is a three-member body, all elected statewide, which regulates private energy utilities, including Alabama Power Company
, Alabama Gas Company (Alagasco), and Mobile Gas Service Corporation.
In 1972, Zeigler and his friends Tommy Chapman and Dennis Nabors, went to work for Kenneth "Bozo" Hammond in his campaign against PSC President Eugene "Bull" Connor. Hammond won, and Zeigler and friends learned how to run a campaign for PSC.
In 1973, Zeigler (age 23) filed a legal complaint before the PSC alleging that Alabama Power Company
was charging consumers for the cost of its advertising even though it constituted a monopoly within its service area. He also alleged that the company was earning excessive profits. He lost the case but generated state news coverage and highlighted the issue of rising electric bills.
In 1974, Zeigler (age 24) filed to run statewide against veteran PSC incumbent C.C. "Jack" Owen. Owen had been on the PSC since two years before Zeigler's birth. (Owen was first elected in 1946 and Zeigler was born in 1948.) The issue in the race was utility rate increases. Owen had voted in favor of most utility increase requests, and Zeigler vowed to oppose them. In a four-way race, Owen led the first primary but lost to Zeigler in the run-off. In January 1975 Zeigler took office as the youngest state elected official.
In 1975, Zeigler intervened before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and blocked two nuclear reactors planned for the Chilton-Elmore County line. He alleged that the Barton nuclear plants would have operated at the expense of Alabama consumers while generating electricity for other states.
In 1977, Zeigler forced re-financing of high-interest Alabama Power Company bonds at prevailing lower interest rates.
Zeigler served one term on the PSC and did not seek re-election in 1978.
In 1984, he challenged paying legislators full pay and expenses during a 13-day Christmas holiday break. He won a circuit court injunction blocking the "holiday pay" but was later reversed by the state supreme court.
In 1985, Zeigler and Montgomery businessman Malcolm Brassell formed The Taxpayers Defense Fund (later called Taxpayers Defense Force), a legal action group. It contested government spending decisions for 20 years.
In 1985, Zeigler filed suit to stop public officials from disguising state cars by purchasing private license plates called "cover tags." The suit was settled by executive order of the governor outlawing cover tags.
In 1986, Zeigler filed suit and successfully blocked political officials from entering the state retirement system.
In 1988 and 1999, Zeigler chaired the vote no campaign on statewide referendums to allow political officials to get into the State Retirement System. The proposed constitutional amendments were defeated both times.
In 2001, Zeigler filed two ethics complaints against then-governor Don Siegelman. The first alleged that Siegelman used his position to settle litigation against the tobacco companies and personally received attorney fees of $800,000. The ethics commission voted three to one to dismiss the tobacco complaint. The second complaint alleged that Siegleman sold his Montgomery house for over twice the appraised value and then appointed the buyer to the state securities commission. Before that case concluded, federal agents seized the files from the ethics commission. A federal grand jury later indicted Siegelman on multiple charges un-related to the ethics complaints. Siegleman was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in federal prison. After serving nine months, he was released pending an appeal.
In 2002, Zeigler filed ethics complaints against State Sen. Sundra Escott-Russell and State Rep. John Hilliard. He alleged that both hired family members at non-profit organizations and then used their positions to divert state funds to the non-profit groups. The ethics commission voted unanimously that there was probable cause that ethics violations occurred and forwarded both cases to the state attorney general for prosecution. No action has been taken by the attorney general's office on either case.
to remove a monument from the state judicial building which featured the Biblical Ten Commandments
, along with an assortment of historical documents which had served as bases for U.S. law. When Moore did not remove the monument, the other eight justices ordered it removed.
Thousands of citizens descended on Montgomery to protest the imminent removal of the Ten Commandments monument. Twenty-two Christian activists were arrested at the monument in the public area of the judicial building during public hours. They were charged with criminal trespass.
The "Montgomery Twenty-Two" retained Jim Zeigler as their attorney. Most later pleaded guilty and all avoided jail.
One of those who decided to fight the charge was Karen Kennedy of Prattville, Alabama. Mrs. Kennedy was sitting beside the Ten Commandments monument in her wheelchair and connected to her oxygen tank when she was arrested and taken to jail. She was found guilty by a district judge sitting without a jury. Zeigler filed an appeal for a jury trial in circuit court. Before the appeal came up, Mrs. Kennedy died. Zeigler said, "She has taken her appeal to a higher seat of judgment."
signed into law the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
(DRA). Among other changes, it placed serious restrictions on senior citizens seeking to qualify for Medicaid
to cover their nursing home costs. Five days later, Jim Zeigler filed a federal lawsuit seeking to void the law. Zeigler alleged that one version of the bill had passed the U.S. Senate and a different version passed the U.S. House. (According to the Constitution, the identical bill must pass both houses and be signed by the President to become law.) The bill signed by the President had passed the Senate but not the House.
Over the next six months, five other federal suits were filed challenging the constitutionality of the DRA. An all-star cast of plaintiffs challenging the DRA included Ralph Nader
's Public Citizen
, eleven members of congress, seventeen Tennessee hospitals, a New York student loan company and Jim Zeigler.
By July 2007, all the DRA lawsuits had been dismissed except for Zeigler's. It too was later dismissed under an 1890's precedent holding that whatever the officers of the two houses of congress certify as having passed cannot be questioned by the judiciary.
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. He wrote the 2007 book, "Don't Let the Government take Grandma's Home and Life Savings.". He wrote the 2010 book, "Veterans Aid and Attendance Kit." He is nationally-certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs may refer to:*Department of Veterans' Affairs, Australia*United States Department of Veterans Affairs*Veterans Affairs Canada*Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affairs...
as an Accredited Veterans Attorney
The native of Sylacauga, Alabama
Sylacauga, Alabama
Sylacauga is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 12,616.Nicknames for Sylacauga include: "The Marble City," "Buzzard's Roost" and "Sly Town"....
(1948) was raised in the Sylacauga suburb of Oak Grove
Oak Grove
Oak Grove is a common name for places in the United States of America. The US Geographic Names Information System lists a total of 90 different populated places in the US with this name...
where his father, Bloise Zeigler, became a 20-year Mayor.
In 1970, Zeigler was elected President of the Student Government Association of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, defeating the controversial political organization "The Machine
The Machine
The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics...
."
He was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission
Alabama Public Service Commission
The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called The PSC, was established by an act of The Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulating and setting rates that utility companies charge their...
where he served 1975-79. After serving one term on the PSC, Zeigler did not run for re-election. He later ran for state supreme court, state treasurer, civil appeals court, and state auditor, losing each by a narrow margin. He thus earned the nickname "Mr. 49%."
He now (2010) has an elder care law practice representing seniors and veterans in protecting assets and gaining eligibility for elder care costs. He is 2010 state chairman of the League of Senior Voters.
University of Alabama
Zeigler graduated from the University of AlabamaUniversity of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
in 1972 with a degree in public administration and minor in journalism. He was President of the Mallet Assembly
Mallet Assembly
The Mallet Assembly is an intellectual living program at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mallet was established in 1961 by John Blackburn and is the oldest honors program still in existence at the University of Alabama....
, a student honors program with a colorful history of political activism. He was in one of the last classes to actually live in the original Mallet Hall dormitory.
Student politics at the University has been dominated since 1914 by a semi-secret political party called "The Machine
The Machine
The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics...
." In 1968 Zeigler and other students founded an anti-Machine party called "The Coalition." They succeeded in electing Zeigler President of the Student Government Association (SGA) in 1970, his being one of the few UA students to defeat The Machine.
In 1971, on the night the Student Court had thrown out an attempt by Student Senators who were members of The Machine to impeach Zeigler as SGA President, his dormitory room in Mallet Hall burned. The cause of the fire was never determined.
Alabama Public Service Commission
Called "the PSC", the Alabama Public Service CommissionAlabama Public Service Commission
The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called The PSC, was established by an act of The Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulating and setting rates that utility companies charge their...
is a three-member body, all elected statewide, which regulates private energy utilities, including Alabama Power Company
Alabama Power Company
Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.3 million homes, businesses, and industries in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It is one of four U.S...
, Alabama Gas Company (Alagasco), and Mobile Gas Service Corporation.
In 1972, Zeigler and his friends Tommy Chapman and Dennis Nabors, went to work for Kenneth "Bozo" Hammond in his campaign against PSC President Eugene "Bull" Connor. Hammond won, and Zeigler and friends learned how to run a campaign for PSC.
In 1973, Zeigler (age 23) filed a legal complaint before the PSC alleging that Alabama Power Company
Alabama Power Company
Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.3 million homes, businesses, and industries in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It is one of four U.S...
was charging consumers for the cost of its advertising even though it constituted a monopoly within its service area. He also alleged that the company was earning excessive profits. He lost the case but generated state news coverage and highlighted the issue of rising electric bills.
In 1974, Zeigler (age 24) filed to run statewide against veteran PSC incumbent C.C. "Jack" Owen. Owen had been on the PSC since two years before Zeigler's birth. (Owen was first elected in 1946 and Zeigler was born in 1948.) The issue in the race was utility rate increases. Owen had voted in favor of most utility increase requests, and Zeigler vowed to oppose them. In a four-way race, Owen led the first primary but lost to Zeigler in the run-off. In January 1975 Zeigler took office as the youngest state elected official.
In 1975, Zeigler intervened before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and blocked two nuclear reactors planned for the Chilton-Elmore County line. He alleged that the Barton nuclear plants would have operated at the expense of Alabama consumers while generating electricity for other states.
In 1977, Zeigler forced re-financing of high-interest Alabama Power Company bonds at prevailing lower interest rates.
Zeigler served one term on the PSC and did not seek re-election in 1978.
Mr. 49%
From 1982 through 2002, Zeigler lost by narrow margins in races for state supreme court, state treasurer, civil appeals court, and state auditor. He thus earned the nickname, "Mr. 49%." In 2004 he made a come-back, defeating Republican National Committeeman and former Chief Justice Perry Hooper Sr. for Statewide Delegate to the Republican National Convention. Zeigler announced his retirement from Alabama politics in 2006.Activism against "wasteful government spending"
In 1983, Zeigler filed a successful legal action against what he termed "illegal extra paychecks" to over 400 political officials. A year-long court battle ended in a victory at the Alabama Supreme Court and return of the money to state coffers.In 1984, he challenged paying legislators full pay and expenses during a 13-day Christmas holiday break. He won a circuit court injunction blocking the "holiday pay" but was later reversed by the state supreme court.
In 1985, Zeigler and Montgomery businessman Malcolm Brassell formed The Taxpayers Defense Fund (later called Taxpayers Defense Force), a legal action group. It contested government spending decisions for 20 years.
In 1985, Zeigler filed suit to stop public officials from disguising state cars by purchasing private license plates called "cover tags." The suit was settled by executive order of the governor outlawing cover tags.
In 1986, Zeigler filed suit and successfully blocked political officials from entering the state retirement system.
In 1988 and 1999, Zeigler chaired the vote no campaign on statewide referendums to allow political officials to get into the State Retirement System. The proposed constitutional amendments were defeated both times.
In 2001, Zeigler filed two ethics complaints against then-governor Don Siegelman. The first alleged that Siegelman used his position to settle litigation against the tobacco companies and personally received attorney fees of $800,000. The ethics commission voted three to one to dismiss the tobacco complaint. The second complaint alleged that Siegleman sold his Montgomery house for over twice the appraised value and then appointed the buyer to the state securities commission. Before that case concluded, federal agents seized the files from the ethics commission. A federal grand jury later indicted Siegelman on multiple charges un-related to the ethics complaints. Siegleman was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in federal prison. After serving nine months, he was released pending an appeal.
In 2002, Zeigler filed ethics complaints against State Sen. Sundra Escott-Russell and State Rep. John Hilliard. He alleged that both hired family members at non-profit organizations and then used their positions to divert state funds to the non-profit groups. The ethics commission voted unanimously that there was probable cause that ethics violations occurred and forwarded both cases to the state attorney general for prosecution. No action has been taken by the attorney general's office on either case.
The Ten Commandments monument
In 2003, a federal court judge ordered Alabama Chief Justice Roy MooreRoy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore is an American jurist and Republican politician noted for his refusal, as the elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state courthouse despite orders to do so from a federal judge...
to remove a monument from the state judicial building which featured the Biblical Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, along with an assortment of historical documents which had served as bases for U.S. law. When Moore did not remove the monument, the other eight justices ordered it removed.
Thousands of citizens descended on Montgomery to protest the imminent removal of the Ten Commandments monument. Twenty-two Christian activists were arrested at the monument in the public area of the judicial building during public hours. They were charged with criminal trespass.
The "Montgomery Twenty-Two" retained Jim Zeigler as their attorney. Most later pleaded guilty and all avoided jail.
One of those who decided to fight the charge was Karen Kennedy of Prattville, Alabama. Mrs. Kennedy was sitting beside the Ten Commandments monument in her wheelchair and connected to her oxygen tank when she was arrested and taken to jail. She was found guilty by a district judge sitting without a jury. Zeigler filed an appeal for a jury trial in circuit court. Before the appeal came up, Mrs. Kennedy died. Zeigler said, "She has taken her appeal to a higher seat of judgment."
Challenge to new Medicaid nursing home restrictions
On February 8, 2006, President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed into law the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the budget, that became law in 2006.-Legislative history:The Senate's version passed after a tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill passed the chamber with no Democrats and five Republicans...
(DRA). Among other changes, it placed serious restrictions on senior citizens seeking to qualify for Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
to cover their nursing home costs. Five days later, Jim Zeigler filed a federal lawsuit seeking to void the law. Zeigler alleged that one version of the bill had passed the U.S. Senate and a different version passed the U.S. House. (According to the Constitution, the identical bill must pass both houses and be signed by the President to become law.) The bill signed by the President had passed the Senate but not the House.
Over the next six months, five other federal suits were filed challenging the constitutionality of the DRA. An all-star cast of plaintiffs challenging the DRA included Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
, eleven members of congress, seventeen Tennessee hospitals, a New York student loan company and Jim Zeigler.
By July 2007, all the DRA lawsuits had been dismissed except for Zeigler's. It too was later dismissed under an 1890's precedent holding that whatever the officers of the two houses of congress certify as having passed cannot be questioned by the judiciary.