Angie Avery and Jamie Collins
The estranged husband of Alabama attorney Angie Avery Collins makes a statement in court documents that suggests she is having an extramarital affair with a Chilton County sheriff's deputy named Shane Mayfield."You know she's f----g Shane Mayfield," James Thomas "Jamie" Collins is quoted as saying in an incident report filed December 14, 2012. (See report at the end of this post.)
Angie Collins has been the attorney of record for Clanton resident Bonnie Cahalane, who unlawfully was incarcerated for more than five months last year in the fallout from a divorce case styled Wyatt v. Wyatt. Collins also served as counsel when Cahalane's house unlawfully was sold, based on the orders of Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds.
Court records show that Collins did pretty much nothing to protect her client's personal or property rights. Is that because Collins is in a vulnerable position with her own divorce case and must gain favor with the judicial establishment in an effort to help her cause?
The answer appears to be yes. Records also suggest Angie Collins has filed a number of incident reports against her estranged husband that might be of questionable merit.
Why do we say that? Consider this timeline: Angie Collins filed for divorce on September 11, 2012, and Jamie Collins responded with a counterclaim for divorce on Sept. 28. The case originally was assigned to Reynolds, but upon Jamie Collins' motion, it was assigned to Talladega County Judge George N. Sims.
As the case moved into the discovery stage, Angie Collins apparently was slow providing responses, so Jamie Collins filed a motion to compel on December 7. One week later, Angie Collins filed a Petition for Protection from Abuse (PFA).
As grounds for the petition, she cited an incident where she let Jamie Collins into her residence and said he grabbed both of her breasts before leaving. On another occasion, she said they got into a verbal altercation, and he grabbed her right arm, spinning her around, before leaving. (See documents at the end of this post.)
Such incidents can be signs of legitimate abuse. But given that Angie Collins' petition came after her estranged husband pushed for discovery responses, a reasonable person might wonder if the PFA was filed in retaliation for the motion to compel.
Central to Angie Collins' allegations of abuse was an incident at the Chilton County Courthouse at 11:10 a.m. on December 14. A report from Officer John Beutler says Jamie Collins entered Courtroom No. 1 on that date and began speaking loudly in the direction of Angie Collins, who apparently was there in her representation of a client. From the report:
He was making statements to Ms. Collins about Christmas arrangements concerning their children. Ms. Collins replied that she was not going to discuss the matter with him in the courtroom. I, Officer John Beutler, approached Mr. Collins and advised him to leave the courtroom. I escorted Mr. Collins to the hallway and asked him to calm down. Mr. Collins then made the statement, "You know she's f----g Shane Mayfield. All I want is an answer to my question."
I advised Mr. Collins to sit on the bench while I went to ask for a response from Ms. Collins. Ms Collins advised me to tell Mr. Collins to consult his attorney. I and Officer Jeff Harrell approached Mr. Collins and told him to see his attorney about the matter and to leave the building. Mr. Collins complied and left the building.
Where does that leave us. Public documents show that Bonnie Cahalane has been treated unlawfully and abusively by a Chilton County "justice system" that is wildly corrupt. Judges like Sibley Reynolds primarily are to blame for that. But we now know that Ms. Cahalane's own attorney has done her no favors--and that probably is because Angie Collins has major legal headaches of her own.
Angie Collins-Shane Mayfield by Roger Shuler
Angie Collins PFA3 by Roger Shuler
Angie Collins PFA2 by Roger Shuler
Angie Collins PFA1 by Roger Shuler