By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – Former Governor Don Siegelman wants to change judges again in his criminal case. Defense attorney Jack Drake filed court papers Monday saying Siegelman wants federal Judge Scott Coogler to step aside. When Coogler was running for Tuscaloosa County circuit judge in 1998, he apparently received campaign contributions from a political action committee supported by Tuscaloosa physician Phillip Bobo. Bobo is one of Siegelman's co-defendants. Reports also say one of Coogler's children received a physical exam from Bobo about a month before Coogler was assigned to the case. Coogler is the third judge Siegelman and the others have faced. The previous two also stepped aside because of ties to the case.