From the Glaser camp:

As recently as June of this year, William Lamberth, who is supposed to be representing the people of Sumner County in court, faced off against at least one defense attorney who donated $1,000 to his political campaign, according to public records. But this is just the beginning. William Lamberth has accepted more than $6,000 from lawyers whose clients are likely to end up under his prosecution.

Former Judge and Candidate for State House, Steven Glaser is calling on William Lamberth, to explain and return campaign contributions from these lawyers.

“Given the recent articles around the questionable donations Mr. Lamberth received from people related to the Lame case, I believe Mr. Lamberth owes an explanation to the people of Sumner County on why he’s taking money from people directly involved in cases he is prosecuting,” said Glaser.

Mr. Lamberth is listed by the D.A.’s office as being a prosecutor on DUI and Drug related offenses, and he has touted his experience on his own website. According to William Lamberth’s last financial disclosure report, submitted on August 3, 2012, he has accepted $6,100 from Sumner County criminal and DUI attorneys.

“These offenders are being tried for crimes against our community, and their lawyers are giving money to the man set to prosecute their clients at the same time. That is a black mark on our court system. Mr. Lamberth should have refused these donations or stepped down from his role as a prosecutor to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Accepting money from the family of someone who is being tried by his boss is bad, but accepting money from lawyers that have a direct connection to his DUI and drug task force is even worse,” said Glaser.

“I am calling on Mr. Lamberth to return all funds solicited from lawyers that have had or have pending cases before the D.A.’s office. I am also calling on Mr. Lamberth to do the respectful thing and step down from his office to clear the District Attorney’s good name. Political donations do not belong in our courtrooms,” said Glaser.

“Mr. Lamberth needs to come clean with the voters about this issue. He needs to explain when and where the campaign contributions were solicited and to ensure he has been forthright with the people. Perhaps he should release all public and telephone communication records between him and these donors. Surely his office phone records will clear this up,” said Alex Marvin, campaign manager for Glaser.