Bill Pryor
Both federal judge Bill Pryor and a young man who posed under that name at a gay porn Web site in the 1990s appear to have an eye condition called strabismus. The Bill Pryor who sits on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, however, wants no part of taking questions on the subject.The Eleventh Circuit is based in Atlanta, but Pryor's primary office--his "duty station," as it's called in the judicial trade--is at the Hugo Black U.S. Courthouse right here in Birmingham. Pryor's residence is in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, not too far from my home in North Shelby County.
It seemed only natural to contact Pryor and seek comment about strabismus, which affects 3 to 4 percent of the U.S. Caucasian population and appears to be present in at least two gentlemen named Bill Pryor--one who sits on the federal bench and one who revealed all for the gay porn Web site badpuppy.com in the 1990s.
You might think that Pryor, with his lifetime appointment that is 100 percent funded by taxpayer dollars, might feel an obligation to answer questions from the public on any number of topics, even one that understandably might make him a tad uncomfortable. But you would be wrong.
We kept our query about strabismus short and sweet, trying to make things as convenient as possible for Pryor. But he still wouldn't bite. Here is the message we sent via e-mail:
Bill:
This is a followup on my reporting at Legal Schnauzer.
Do you have a condition known as strabismus, which is a crossing or misalignment of the eyes?
Have you ever been treated for strabismus?
Would you release copies of your medical records as it relates to any and all eye care?
Thank you,
Roger Shuler
Pryor already has denied that the young man in the badpuppy.com photos is him, so you might think it would be easy for the judge to reply, "The guy in the porn photo isn't me, and I don't have strabismus."
Of course, we have photographic evidence that suggests both "Bill Pryor, the judge" and "Bill Pryor, the porn star" do have strabismus.
Maybe that's why the judge wanted no part of our questions.