Jefferson County judge suspended, complaint says she called herself “ultimate authority”

Jefferson County probate judge accused of misconduct

By Morgan Hightower 

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. — A judge in Jefferson County who reportedly told her staff she was the “ultimate authority” with “no boss” has been suspended following a 120-page complaint filed by the Judicial Inquiry Commission.

Probate Judge Yashiba Blanchard is out of the courtroom indefinitely and through this complaint, is formally accused of ethical and judicial misconduct.

Judge Elisabeth French, the presiding judge in Jefferson County, appointed retired Probate Judge Sherri Friday to serve temporarily in Blanchard’s place and appointed retired Judge Carole Smitherman to temporarily serve as Chief Election Official for Jefferson County.

The complaint lays out dozens of allegations against Blanchard that claim she ran the Probate Court in an incompetent and unprofessional manner, routinely targeting attorneys and staff, and manufacturing a backlog that created  havoc in involuntary commitments.

The commission charges Blanchard with pattern and practice of failing to diligently discharge judicial duties, pattern and practice of failing to follow the law, pattern and practice of exhibiting bias against attorneys appearing in Blanchard’s court, failure to disqualify from a case in which Blanchard served as an attorney, harassment, intimidation, and retaliation against probate court staff, allowing other court officials subject to Blanchard’s direction and control to engage in harassment and intimidation of probate court staff, and failure to maintain professional competence in judicial administration.

Delays in involuntary commitment hearings

Blanchard did not hear an involuntary commitment hearing until September, nine months into her term, according to the complaint. She is accused of frequently being late to court, imposing strict docket limits, canceling hearings hours before they were supposed to begin, including one involving a “respondent who was to be discharged from inpatient care and sent home.”

In that case, the hospital emailed Blanchard and her staff multiple times, requesting a hearing to prevent “avoidable undue and emotional distress for the patient.”

In one email, the hospital said, “With the cancellation and the rescheduling of her hearing to December 2, this patient will now remain hospitalized for an additional two weeks solely due to the lack of timely access to the hearing process. This not only prevents her from being home with her family for Thanksgiving, but it also generates unnecessary hospitalization costs and creates avoidable emotional distress for the patient and her loved ones. Beyond this single case, the cancellation of the docket disrupts unit flow, delays care for other patients needing admission which can pose a threat to public safety and places our staff in untenable operational positions. It is difficult to reconcile today’s action with our shared responsibility to ensure patients receive timely due process and appropriate, least-restrictive care. The sequence of events today reflects a disregard for the rights of our patients, the time and safety of their families, and the operational efficiency of the hospital.”

The complaint said Blanchard held a hearing after a third request that the patient was “lying in bed crying and upset.”

The complaint further alleges court staff shifted cases to the other judge to avoid due-process violations, that Blanchard held some probable-cause hearings outside the statutory time window, and that she misrepresented to Presiding Circuit Judge French that cancellations were rare and that facilities received adequate notice.

Financial and emotional harm to families

Blanchard’s alleged failure to promptly handle probate cases, including guardianship and estate matters, caused financial and emotional harm to families involved.

The complaint includes 24 examples of cases where hearings were canceled or delayed and the people involved had to wait several months, or even a year, for a resolution.

In one example, an attorney reportedly responded to an email about a hearing rescheduling with a plea. “Just hoping we do not have a continuance because I am so worried that my client is going to die.”

Blanchard’s staff responded, “Oh I completely understand. I have another case on this docket in the same predicament…,” according to the complaint.

Special judge appointments sought

The complaint alleges Blanchard repeatedly sought special probate judge appointments, including a “blanket order” for an attorney to cover her during conferences, while she was “in the office so she can get work done,” and for the month of December so she could work on orders from home.

The presiding judge responded that specific dates and reasons were required.

A request in April 2026 was denied, according to the complaint, and the denial letter was delivered to the attorney Blanchard requested as special project judge while he was on the bench hearing cases that he was not properly appointed to hear.

Allegations of attorney intimidation

The complaint outlines an alleged pattern of intimidation by Blanchard against attorneys, including filing improper orders and threatening contempt when those orders were challenged, and filing an unsupported State Bar complaint.

Blanchard is also accused of filing a police report against two attorneys, that resulted in their photographs being shared with courthouse security.

“That same day, the presiding circuit judge met separately with Judge Blanchard and representatives of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Judge Blanchard told the presiding circuit judge that she did not trust Attorneys Britton or Hawley and did not want them in her courtroom.” 

Staff reassignments and alleged retaliation

A large portion of the complaint is dedicated to the alleged treatment of probate staff by Blanchard, including the reassignment of employees from Birmingham to Bessemer with little notice. Blanchard said the additional staff in Bessemer was requested, however, it was not, according to the complaint.

“Moving staff to Bessemer made little sense from a logistical standpoint, and Judge Blanchard was well aware of this. In an email that Judge Blanchard sent to staff and to fellow judges on March 21, 2025, she said that the “open cases Probate Court in the Birmingham Division totaled 742 as of January 21, 2025,” while the “open cases in Probate Court in the Bessemer Division totaled 172 as of January 21, 2025.” In other words, there were more than four times the number of open cases in the Birmingham Division versus the Bessemer Division.”

The complaint said Blanchard was indifferent to staff who requested a transfer back to Birmingham, including a woman who said the move added 40 minutes to her commute and made it more difficult for her spend time with her sister who was dying of cancer.

Blanchard did not respond to her request, according to the complaint.

“Shortly thereafter, the clerk’s sister died. The clerk was unable to make it to the hospital in time to say goodbye because she was stuck in traffic driving to the hospital from Bessemer.”

Allegations involving chief clerk

Blanchard is accused of targeting Chief Clerk Amanda Reid. According to the complaint, an employee was asked by Blanchard on her first day if she like Reid. The employee said she did.

“Judge Blanchard then said, ‘Oh, I forgot you all like kissing white a--.’”

Blanchard is accused of attempting to manufacture performance and insubordination issues against Reid, moving her out of her office and limiting her access to tools and files necessary to do her job.

The complaint said Blanchard moved Reid’s desk to a cubicle in-front of her bailiff, and retaliated against her for complying with a subpoena from the Judicial Inquiry Commission.

In total, Blanchard faces seven charges for violating multiple provisions of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. 

This case will be presided over by the Court of the Judiciary, a court of nine judges and attorneys, currently led by Judge William Cole of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Proceedings before the Court of the Judiciary operate like a court hearing. The Judicial Inquiry Commission will act as prosecutor in this setting, making its case before the court. Blanchard will have the opportunity to defend against the allegations in the complaint. The Court of the Judiciary has the authority to remove a judge from office, suspend without pay or censure judges for misconduct.

At the time of publication, Blanchard had not filed a formal response to the complaint.

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Jefferson County judge suspended, complaint says she called herself “ultimate authority”