The guard called Shuler to the visitation area of the jail at about 3:15 p.m. last Friday for what was billed as a "attorney visit." Shuler arrived to be met by a Ms. Berger of Magic City Investigations who served him with papers in a lawsuit filed by Luther Strange campaign aide Jessica Medeiros Garrison.
At a hearing earlier that day, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Don Blankenship seemed to agree with Shuler that service in the Garrison case had been done unlawfully. Garrison lawyer Bill Baxley must have picked up on that because he apparently dispatched Berger to the Shelby County Jail in an attempt to serve Shuler again. It's not clear, however, that Berger acted lawfully on the second try
"In my research of the Shelby County Jail handbook, I could find no provision for a process server to visit an inmate here," Shuler said. "Visits appear to be limited to family and friends (on weekends), attorneys, and members of the clergy. Berger does not fit into any of those categories, so it's hard to see how she was allowed into the jail to visit me and serve papers. I have filed a grievance with the jail seeking all documentation regarding her visit. If she stated on the sign-in sheet that she is lawyer when she isn't that could violate Alabama law. A number of statutes in the code of Alabama relate to false statements to law enforcement departments and officials. It's unclear at this point that Berger violated any of those statutes, but it's a worthwhile question to ask and one that I intend to pursue."
