Local Attorney Found Guilty Amidst Controversy: Justice or Miscarriage?

PANAMA CITY: 1/30/24: I attended the trial of local attorney Billy Joe "Hoot" Crawford today at the Bay County Courthouse. Mr. Crawford was found guilty of the two charges he was accused of in court: interfering with custody and tampering with a witness. The other charges were dropped/consolidated. He remains free on his own recognizance until sentencing.

Let me be clear that I don't know Mr. Crawford. I don't believe we have ever spoken to each other. If we did, it was in passing. I am an unbiased observer of this terrible situation and I personally think justice has not been served. I don't blame the jury for making their decision. Because of some rulings by Judge Wells, which many of us do not agree with, the jury did not get instructions about important facts, to include the provisions of "Marsy's Law." https://www.marsyslawforfl.com/ I feel this case will certainly be appealed, and many off-the-record legal opinions in the room indicated there was ample reason for a successful appeal of these verdicts.

In this case, Mr. Crawford was hired by a couple to represent their 16-year-old daughter, who had stated that, years ago, she was sexually abused by her brother in another state, at a time when the two of them could only have been about 8 or 9 years old. Of course the parents were horrified to hear this. They love both children and, understandably, were not sure what to do, except they wanted to help their daughter. They believed they were taking every step they could to protect their child and get her the help she needed. Their daughter was in a bad mental state and had been Baker Acted (involuntary committal) a few days prior to the events of this case.

Today, in court, the child's mother was called to the stand. She and her husband are obviously well-educated, upstanding, hardworking people. They have a total of 5 children, including this young girl and her brother. The mother was clearly distraught and anxious, someone who has never been involved in the legal system before in this manner. She described how she first heard of her daughter's allegations against the brother, and the steps she took to try to help her. The day she brought her already traumatized daughter home from the psychiatric facility, she says an investigator banged on her front door and told her she needed to take her daughter to the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center. According to the mother, this investigator began berating her, telling her she was a bad and neglectful parent, etc, until she pulled out her phone to record the encounter. She stated that the investigator left after that.

The mother related how she and her husband then hired Hoot Crawford to represent their daughter so she would not have to be alone when interviewed at GCCAC. This was a voluntary interview, but the parents apparently believed it was mandatory, even though the girl had been through enough and did not want to talk to anyone at that point, especially just after being Baker Acted. By all accounts, Crawford accompanied the girl to the center and did his best to make her feel at ease. The parents were satisfied with Crawford, to the point that he is still their daughter's attorney. Crawford has been described as treating this child like a grandfather would treat a granddaughter, in a kind and gentle manner. Alternatively, the parents found the environment at GCCAC, in their view, to be hostile to them and their daughter. When Crawford left the center with his young client (a VOLUNTARY visit) he stated to BCSO and the center's employees that he would be at his office with the girl when DCF got a court order to take custody of the child. A GCCAC employee stood behind his car and tried to prevent Crawford from leaving, (which is so stupid), but Crawford was able to leave anyway. (This employee later claimed Crawford had hit her with his car and that she had injuries, even though the video does not appear to reflect that. She also later received worker's comp for 4 months. Crawford had been charged in that incident as well, but those charges were dropped/consolidated.) Instead of the police simply following Crawford to his office and receiving the court order, they surrounded Crawford's car on the street. Crawford and this young girl sat in his car for an hour or more until the court order was obtained. Crawford was arrested. Was that action by BCSO really in the best interests of this child?

To me, it is incredible and awful that this entire situation happened the way it did. It did not have to be this way. I think there are many good and dedicated policemen and DCF workers, but I don't think any of them involved in this chaos used good judgement that day. I believe Crawford was trying his best to represent his client, as an attorney is supposed to do. Were the police and the GCCAC employees operating in the best interests of this child who had already been traumatized over and over? I do not believe so. I'm a mother and I can only imagine the heartbreak and helplessness this mother endured through all this. I would have been beside myself. On the stand, in tears, she said, "No matter what I say, I'm attacked." It was terrible to watch this woman's pain. It seems to me this woman and her husband tried to help their child the best they knew. They followed the steps they thought that they should. They did what they were told they should do. They sought help from people who are supposed to be professionals. In my opinion, it seems clear that a system meant to serve and protect only let them down and made a unbearable situation worse. Is this what we want for our Bay County families and children? I don't. It sure seems to me this child and her family were victimized yet again by people who were supposed to provide aid and care. The system is broken. As for the prosecution, I guess they got a "W" in their column, but does this conviction today really make Bay County a safer place to live? Or was this whole thing a waste of time, energy, and taxpayer dollars?

Furthermore, what the jury didn't know is that Hoot Crawford had expressed an interest in running for State Attorney, opposing current SAO Larry Basford. Whose office prosecuted this case? Larry Basford's.

As for me, if I needed an attorney, I would not hesitate to hire Hoot Crawford. The prosecution kept trying to accuse him of attempting to influence this child to say that her brother did nothing wrong. Why in the world would Crawford do that? As far as I know he did not know this family before they hired him. He was retained to represent this girl and act in her best interests. It makes no sense that he would not do what he was engaged to do. I think Crawford went above and beyond, putting himself at risk for his client. He did not back down under immense pressure, and I say, good for him. I also would not hesitate to hire Mr. Pumphrey, Crawford's defense attorney. Even though he was on the losing end today, I was very impressed with him and his presentation. He did the best he could when his defense was hamstrung by some of Judge Wells's earlier decisions about what could be introduced into evidence. I was NOT all that impressed by Judge Wells. He came from Walton County--and they can keep him.

In the end, I don't think justice was served today, but there will be other days and, I believe, other rulings. As The Burnie Thompson Show likes to say, "The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly fine." I think this child and her family were incredibly ill-served by local agencies meant to help. There clearly needs to be reform within BCSO and GCCAC. These entities won't do anyone any good if people cannot trust them to help. As for myself, tonight I pray for Mr. Crawford and I pray for this girl and her family. As always, I pray for truth to prevail.

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