[music] [music] [music] [music] for the replay gang gang. Just so you know, I will um time [music] stamp skipping over all this extra stuff where I'm waiting on YouTube to do its thing. So, don't worry about this. I [music] will I'll give a time stamp to skip over all this part. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> All right, [music] let me get all this going. Okay, so I am going to start. And as I put in the chat, I can't greet once I start because I do want to try to do as clean of a read through as I can on this. This took me multiple days, so hopefully it's appreciated. Um, but all right, so first of all, let me get my screen together. It's been a time. Hold on. There we go. Okay. Oh, mic check first. Can Am I being heard? Can you hear me? Cuz I would hate that I didn't even pay attention to that. Okay, hopefully we're good. All right. So, this is a future law student breakdown of the Melody Sheree Act, which I learned about with everybody else, and I was like, "All right, okay. I see it. I see it." But, um, you know, I have a curious mind, so I'm sure other people have curious minds as well. So, there was some things I just wanted to, uh, go over because it's how do we get this to be a law law is basically all that's where my question started. So, um, we're going to go ahead and get started now. And so, I want to look at this look at this the way I would want to learn it. So, this presentation is based on how I would need someone to explain it to me. Um, and I wanted to compare with what has been publicly publicly described about the Melody Sharact by Melody and Senator Coleman and separate what we know from what we still have to wait to see. All right. So, the things I'm covering tonight, we're going to go over does Alabama already have a false reporting law? When can false reporting become a felony? Does the accused have to be arrested? What could the Melody Sheree Act change? Restitution, punitive damages, and professional consequences, and how can the bill become law? How can you get involved as an Alabama resident and a non-al resident? All right, so how do we get here? read this out my notebook. Okay, so this is going to be very much summarized because it is so much. So I apologize now because you know I'm not going to hit all these details, but if I am in your algorithm to the point that you clicked on this, it'll be in your algorithm to watch the content creators that have gone into detail. You can go back three, four years and get all the history. So I know I am very much summarizing right now, but all right. So, Martell Hope never actually thought Melody Sheree Rogers was going to leave him and actually divorced him um because she did give him multiple chances before it got to that point. Oh, and they are from a show called Love and Marriage Huntsville. The show was Melody Melody's idea. It took off. Uh they got weird. They to me did not always protect victims. Um so that's my opinion. But anyway, so this does come from Love and Marriage Huntsville, like how we were first kind of introduced to them when they were still a couple. Uh, but Melody had her fourth child nicknamed Sugar Mama, and she definitely or she was known to be said that Sugar Mama was one of the reasons that gave her enough strength to finally leave this toxic situation. Uh, Melody thrived even more postivorce than she did while she and Martell were together. and she continued to do things that in my opinion uh caused him to see his insecurities and for them to be more highlighted because once she left you could see who was actually doing the work versus who was just present. Um, unfortunately, Martell Hol channeled his anger. I'll say allegedly, but channeled his anger and unwillingness to acknowledge shortcomings through taking it out on Melody when he could. And if he could not get to her, he went through the children to the point where the court had to specify no corporal punishment during their yearslong custody battle. um his son from what has been reported to me it looks like outside looking in it looks like his son is receiving the worst of it um not only the son but just uh more of the it's very visible ironically um going to this topic this is not Martell's first time of being in contact with the law he when he was younger he was uh involved in a robbery and he was caught with all the paraphernalia basically that was needed to perform the robbery. Famously, uh he got the nickname walkie-talkie because he was found with walkie-talkies in the car, which was used to communicate during the robbery. Um that was a felony. And his uncle that appeared on the show in one season, I believe was one of the uncles named that was also involved in the robbery. More recently, uh maybe a year or two now ago, probably two, three years. Time goes by so fast. But Martell tried to have revenge corn released of Melody from a point in time where they were actually still married and just sharing an intimate moment between husband and wife, but he didn't just want that to be leaked. He wanted it to be that um she's performing this act with someone else and not him. So, he wanted to look like it was a whole another person in the video. And I'm sure probably trying to make the time look different as well when it happened, but it Yeah. So that led to um among other things he was doing but that led to his arrest for thirdderee domestic violence and harassing communications and obviously another moment to for him to be embarrassed. I don't know if he knows the meaning of that word but definitely to highlight some insecurities again and to give him opportunities to not take accountability for his actions. And that leads us up to now where Martell found an opportunity to exploit um his interactions with Melody that led to Melody being falsely accused, arrested and hence we have the Melody Sheree act that is proposed. Okay. All right. So before we get into what this proposal would do, I want to make sure we understand where it is in the current process. Last I checked as I was doing this presentation. Senator Coleman has used both pre-filing and introduction when talking about this legislation. And I learned those are two different steps. So Essence quotes her as saying she is pre-filing the legislation, which means to me intends to pre-file the legislation. Um, WAFF quotes her referring to the current draft and saying she intends to introduce it on February 2nd, 2027. Pre-filing happens before the regular legislative session begins. Alabama's rule says legislators may deliver bills early to the Senate Secretary or House Clerk. Those bills are numbered and processed for introduction when the regular session begins. Pre-filing is optional. Alabama's rules says legislators may pre-file bills between sessions and the Senate rules separately um and the Senate rules separately allow bills to be introduced during the regular session. Alabama's own legislative guide says the lawmaking process begins with the introduction of the bill. Senator Coleman says she intends to introduce this one on February 2nd, which is consistent with Alabama's current law, setting the 2027 regular session to begin on the first Tuesday in February. And February 2nd is not her only possible day to introduce it. Alabama Senate rules generally allow bills or other than local bills to be introduced through the 24th legislative day. So, the easiest way I'm remembering this is pre-filing is an optional early step. Introduction is the step that formally puts the bill into the legislative process. And right now, Senator Coleman is describing a current draft that she plans to introduce when the 2027 session begins. And that is my interpretation of her being quoted. I just want to make that clear. I'm not saying that for sure is what's going on, but based on her quotes, that's what it it appears to be. So, all right. What happened on September 22nd? On Tuesday, September 22nd me of 2026, Melody Sheree Rogers turned herself in at the Madison County Jail. The Madison County Sheriff's Office booking record shows she was booked at 9:29 a.m. and released at 10:59 a.m. The charge listed was domestic violent third harassment. So, why Melody says legislation is needed? Melody says the allegations against her are fabricated, and she connects her push for this legislation to what she says has been years of harassment affecting her family, children, and livelihood. She also says the issue is bigger than her individual situation, saying it's far too easy to get warrants on innocent people. Melody says Senate attorneys wrote a new bill based on her situation. All right, so let's look at what Senator Coleman herself says in the current or says about the current draft. She describes the legislation as being about accountability. According to Senator Coleman, the current draft strengthens Alabama's false reporting law by expanding it beyond reports made to law enforcement. Senator Coleman says it would provide stronger penalties in certain serious cases and recognize people who are wrongfully named in false reports as victims for purposes of restitution. Senator Coleman also says the purpose is to prevent governmental or professional processes from being intentionally misused to harass, harm, or retaliate against another person. All right. And I kind of pre-answered this question with the slide I just read, but yes, Alabama has a form of false reporting currently. All right. So, what would have to be proven? Or actually, let me let me read this like I need to. Alabama already has a crime specifically called false reporting to local, state, or federal law enforcement authorities under Alabama code section 13A-10-9. So, this proposal would not create Alabama's first false reporting crime. Alabama already has one. Under the current statute, a person commits the offense by knowingly making a false report or causing a false report to be transmitted to law enforcement concerning a crime or relating to a crime. What would have to be proven on this currently is that breaking the statute into parts. It says a person commits the offense if they knowingly make a false report or cause the transmission of a false report. It must go to local, state or federal law enforcement and it must concern a crime or relate to a crime. And why knowingly matters? So why that word matters is Alabama defines knowingly in Alabama code section 13- sorry 13A-2-2 subsection 2. In short, a person acts knowingly when they are aware that their conduct is of that nature or that the circumstances exist for false reporting. The practical meaning is that the person was aware of what they were doing and knew the report was false. So report being false does not by itself establish that it was made knowingly. the state will still have to prove that required mental state. That's why there is a legal difference between someone being mistaken and someone knowingly making a false report. Okay. So, what isn't enough by itself to prove false reporting? A criminal a criminal allegation being dismissed against the accused or ending in a in an acquitt or simply not being proven does not by itself prove that the person who made the report committed false reporting. False reporting is a separate crime with its own requirements. Under Alabama Code section 13-8-10-9, the report has to be false and it has to be made or caused to be transmitted knowingly. And if someone is prosecuted for false reporting, the state still has to prove that criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt. So these are two separate questions. Could the original allegation be proven? And did the accuser knowingly make a false report? Some ways that knowingly can be proven or knowledge can be proven is for example in Walker v. state. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals explained that knowledge may be established through circumstantial evidence and inferred from a person's acts or conduct. The opinion also discusses things like declarations or admissions, contradictory statements, and explanations as evidence that may help show knowledge. Walker was a drug possession case, not a false reporting case, but I'm using it only for the court's discussion of how knowledge may be proved. Whether evidence like that would be enough to prove someone knowingly made a false report would depend on the facts and evidence in that particular case. So currently when can false reporting be a felony? So um let me make sure I do this right. So for instances of imminent danger think of things like an active shooter threat or a bomb threat, a false active shooter threat or a bomb threat. In that situation it is a class C felony and that felony part of the law is relatively new. It was enacted in May 2024 and took effect on October 1st, 2024. Melody has said the proposed law would make a false police report that results in the arrest of an innocent party a felony. So that would be a different trigger from what the current statute says because the current felony provision is tied to imminent danger, not an arrest. Senator Coleman has said the current draft would include stronger penalties in certain serious cases, but without official bill text, we still don't know exactly how that part would be written. And I can't see my screen of y'all. So, I just want to make sure. Okay, can y'all hear me? Because I didn't even check this my mic check. Okay, making sure. All right, let me get back to my screen. Okay. Who could receive restitution under the proposed law? So, who can receive it now versus under the proposal? So, current law, false reporting restitution is given to government agencies um that are that can receive qualifying emergency response and investigation costs. Separately, Alabama has a general restitution law dealing with qualifying financial losses suffered by victims. Possibly possible examples could include things like lost wages or travel expenses, but we won't know what this proposed law would actually cover until the bill is officially introduced. And Senator Coleman says the current draft would specifically recognize people wrongfully named in false reports as victims for purposes of restitution. Without the bill text, we don't yet know exactly what losses would qualify or how that part would work. What do we know so far? Okay, so first here's the big picture. Once a bill is introduced, it still has several steps before it can become law. It goes to a standing committee and then if it Oh, hold on one second. I might be on my wrong Oh, hold on y'all. Skip my slides. Canva is different. So, I'm getting used to that one. All right, there we go. How would the bill move? All right. So, it goes to a standing committee and then if it moves forward through the Senate or House where it started, if it passes there, it goes to the other chamber and goes through that process again. So, it can be from what I learned, it could be submitted through either or introduced through the House or the House of Representatives or the Senate. Whichever one is introduced in, it also h if it's voted majority yes, it also has to be voted majority yes in the other location or other area. So, and they both have to agree on all changes being made, which I'm I think it's already in my notes. Um, but it says, "And the bill can change along the way. It can be amended in committee or on the floor, and the second chamber can also make changes. If that happens, the chambers have to resolve those differences because both the House and Senate ultimately have to agree to do the same version. If they cannot agree directly, a conference committee can be used to try to work out the differences. Once both chambers pass the same version, it goes to the governor. All right. What you definitely need to know are the numbers so we can get the so it can be passed. How many votes does an ordinary bill need to pass? So starting with the easiest example, Alabama has 35 senators and 105 House members. So if every member were present and every member voted yes or no, a simple majority in the Senate would be 18 yes votes and 53 yes votes in the House. But every member actually does not have to be present. Each chamber only needs a quorum to conduct business. A quorum is the minimum number required to be present. In the Senate, a minimum of 18 people have to be present. In the House, it has to be 53 or members, not people, but it has to be 18 members for Senate, 53 members for the House. But here's where quorum and yes votes are different. Those quorum numbers are not automatically the number of yes votes needed to pass an ordinary bill. So, for example, under Alabama law, if you have 18 senators that did show up, so you have the quorum the but only 10 of those senators actually vote yes or no. So, they're they're the only ones participating in the vote, although there's 18 physical senators there and only 10 are voting. That means that six votes have to be yes of the 10. So, it doesn't it's just 18 to get the business started. But if only 10 vote, six would have to vote yes. So to pass that majority for the Senate and then for the House it'd be 53 have to show up and then they would actually go based off of who participated in the voting and count that to see if it was majority yes or no. The other senators who are present but do not vote yes or do not automat or do not vote no do not automatically count as no votes. Alabama Senate rules specifically allow members to abstain. So the easiest way to remember it is quorum tell tells us how many members have to be there. The yes and no vote determines whether the ordinary bill passes. All right. And what do we know so far? So um Alabama already criminalizes knowingly making a false report to law enforcement about or relating to a crime. It is generally a class A misdemeanor currently, but it can already become a class C felony when the false report alleges imminent danger specifically. The current law does not require the accused person to actually be arrested and it already includes restitution for certain government response or investigation expenses. Um the proposal described Oh, sorry. Yeah. So the proposal described so far is that it will expand beyond reports to law enforcement. It will um affect if it's reported to if a false report is given to other agencies, licensing boards and ethics commission. There will be stronger penalties in certain cases and wrongfully named people will be recognized as victims for restitution. The bill language is currently unconfirmed because um and as you'll see you you can actually read bills publicly. So you can see what uh has been proposed once the senator or the representative actually submits it though. So you can't read it till it's submitted where you can see it. But based on the language used, it's going to be just be formally introduced on February 2nd. So you may not I don't know if we'll see that before then. Um but both are valid either way. So, but in the unconfirmed language, what exactly would make a violation a felony? How is innocent party defined? How punitive damages would specifically change? whether the person making the false report could face job or licensing consequences, remaining final bill language in general because we have seen the um interview Melody did and we have seen if you have read the Essence article or somewhere else where Senator Coleman was quoted, it's spoken about, but the how that's the meat and potatoes that's kind of going to be you can see that when it's actually written out. And again, she plans on introducing it February 2nd, 2027. But if you actually want to do something while this is happening, if you're if you're a resident in Alabama, you can use find my legislator. You can find the bill and bill search once it's introduced or pre-filed and read the bill and status. You can contact your senator or representative, and you can watch committee hearing notices. If you're outside of Alabama, you can check your state's false reporting law for yourselves. You can follow verified updates on the Alabama proposal, and you can contact your own state legislators about similar legislation. Okay, let me go back. All right. Okay, so that is it. And I this this is what makes me mad. This took me three days to make and three minutes to read. [laughter] That makes me so mad. But hopefully that does help because what I need to see from these lawmakers, I need to see it make it to the Senate. Since it is Senator Coleman, it would to me if she's introducing it, it would be in the Senate first. So, I just need it to be introduced in the Senate before the deadline. If February 2 is the first day is not the deadline. Um, just please introduce it. After that, it's kind of almost out of your hands because now you have other people voting on it. So, just please introduce it. That's what I'm I'm hoping to see so we can then follow it. And I I I do hope it becomes a law because the details will be in there on, you know, not catching someone up on that shouldn't be caught up in it. But I do think that it matters that there is not a lot that happens to people that intentionally file false reports. Meanwhile, they mess up your whole life. So, yeah. So, I'm I'm curious to see. And again, I would say I just needed to make to that Senate. make it to the senate. That's that's what it has to do. So, yeah. All right. So, I think that's it. I'm about to go eat a snack and be mad that this took me three days to make and and again, such a short time to read everything. [laughter] But for those that are here now, hey, and then for replay gang gang, um I'll see y'all. And then, um eventually this will be on Legal at some point channel because that's really where something like this belongs. Um, but yeah, I'll be looking to see if y'all have any comments. If it's something crazy, I'm not replying though. All right, but thank y'all so much and I will talk to y'all later. Bye.