Don Siegelman - Definition and Overview

Don Siegelman (born February 24, 1946, in Mobile, Alabama) is an American Democratic politician. He was the governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. He served as Alabama secretary of state from 1976 to 1986, Alabama attorney general from 1987 to 1990, and Alabama lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999. He was defeated for reelection in November 2002 by Representative Bob Riley in one of the closest statewide elections in the history of Alabama. On May 27, 2004, he was indicted on federal charges of participating in a bid-rigging scheme with Paul Hamrick, his former chief of staff, and Phillip Bobo, a major contributor to his political campaigns. After considerable wrangling with federal prosecutors, including switching through three judges, his trial began in October 2004. The day after his trial began, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against all three men when the third judge threw out much of the prosecution's evidence "with prejudice," meaning that charges could not be refiled based on the disallowed evidence, effectively gutting the prosecution's case. Siegelman has publicly said that he is considering running for reelection as Governor in 2006.