Mike Hubbard

Rep. Mike Hubbard of Auburn strikes a gavel after he is re-elected speaker of the House during the Alabama Legislature organizational session, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard goes on trial starting Tuesday in a case that could not only end his once-soaring political career but also send him to prison.

Hubbard, 54, is scheduled to stand trial in Opelika on 23 felony violations of the state ethics law, allegations that he used his public offices for personal benefit.

Hubbard has maintained his innocence.

The Republican from Auburn called the case "a political witch hunt" shortly after a special grand jury in Lee County issued the indictment in October 2014.

Since then, his lawyers have fought to have the charges dismissed, without success.

Hubbard declined comment Friday on the advice of his lawyers.

Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker placed lawyers on both sides in the case under a gag order in January.

Hubbard attorney Bill Baxley reiterated on Friday that there won't be a last-minute plea bargain.

"There is no plea deal being considered," Baxley said. "There's never been one considered."

Each of the charges against Hubbard is a Class B felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

A jury of nine men and seven women, including four alternates, will hear the case, which could include testimony from two governors, some of Hubbard's colleagues in the Legislature, lobbyists and other power players in state politics.

Subpoenas went to both Gov. Robert Bentley and former Gov. Bob Riley, a longtime mentor for Hubbard.

Lawyers have said they expect the case to last about three weeks.

Hubbard has served in the House of Representatives since 1998.

In 2010, he recruited and groomed candidates and orchestrated an historic power shift at the State House.

Republicans captured large majorities in the House and Senate and ended more than a century of Democratic dominance.

Hubbard memorialized the effort in his book, "Storming the State House: The Campaign that Liberated Alabama from 136 Years of Democratic Rule."

William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, said Hubbard's success had made him a strong contender to become the state's next governor, until the indictment.

"I think Speaker Hubbard was a rising star, but he's not now," Stewart said. "Even if he's acquitted of all these charges, they're going to be remembered by the voters."

Voters in Hubbard's district reelected him to the House in 2014 after the indictment, and his colleagues in the House overwhelmingly reelected him speaker in 2015.

But a conviction on any of the charges would remove him from office.

The Hubbard-led campaign to take over the Legislature six years ago was built on promises of ending corruption in Montgomery and was dubbed the "Handshake with Alabama."

The new Republican majority passed a package of ethics bills during a special session shortly after the 2010 election. Riley signed the bills into law.

Fifteen of the charges against Hubbard are under two of those 2010 laws.

Those include 11 counts of soliciting or receiving things of value from lobbyists or principals (people and businesses that employ lobbyists), and four counts of lobbying state agencies for money.

The indictment alleges that Hubbard broke the law when he sought help from Riley in getting new clients for his business, the Auburn Network, and when he sought consulting assistance from Riley's daughter, Minda Riley Campbell. Both are lobbyists.

Hubbard's lawyers have claimed the dealings with Riley and Campbell were legal, partly because of a "friendship" exception to the ethics law.

The indictment alleges that Hubbard was paid by Southeast Alabama Gas District and by a business owned by Robert Abrams to lobby the governor's office and the Department of Commerce.

Hubbard's lawyers have claimed that Hubbard relied on guidance from the Ethics Commission staff in his consulting contracts with those companies.

They also asserted that Hubbard's right to lobby on behalf of his business clients is protected by the First Amendment.

Prosecutors, in their response, noted that Hubbard was once a champion of the ethics reforms that he now claims are being applied in ways that are overly broad and vague.

"The Constitution does not give public officials the right to enrich themselves by accepting substantial compensation from private interests in exchange for insuring that those private interests receive red carpet lobbying treatment," they wrote.

Hubbard is charged with one count of voting for legislation with a conflict of interest. Prosecutors allege that Hubbard voted for legislation in 2013 that would have made American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc., the sole pharmacy benefit manager for the Alabama Medicaid Agency.

Prosecutors allege that was a conflict because APCI was paying Hubbard's company $5,000 a month under a consulting contract.

Hubbard's attorneys have asserted that there was no conflict of interest and that his consulting work for APCI was within guidelines established by the Ethics Commission.

Hubbard faces four charges of using his position as former Republican Party state chairman to steer GOP money to his businesses, Craftmaster Printers and the Auburn Network.

The speaker also faces charges related to soliciting or receiving a total of $600,000 in investments for Craftmaster Printers from lobbyists and principals, including Jimmy Rane, president of Great Southern Wood.

Hubbard's lawyers have challenged those charges on several grounds, including that Rane and two others named are not defined as principals under the ethics law.