In a little over a year, the probate judge for Alabama’s largest county approved more than $1 million in spending for two consultants, along with thousands more for radio commercials and promotional materials including T-shirts and photo shoots.
According to documents obtained and reviewed by AL.com, the spending occurred under Jefferson County Probate Judge Yashiba Blanchard.
Blanchard was suspended from the bench May 21 on unrelated allegations of misconduct. Blanchard has denied any wrongdoing in advance of a state judicial hearing July 9 in Montgomery.
Money for the seven-figure spending came from a discretionary fund that was created primarily to preserve and digitize old county records.
Blanchard’s spending from the discretionary fund expanded the types of expenditures it paid for, current and former county employees told AL.com.
“Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t think this is typical,” said former Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos.
Petelos has insight into the fund and its use. As the county’s first CEO, who retired in 2021, Petelos worked alongside Probate Judge Alan King, who created the discretionary fund, in addition to working with his immediate successor, Judge Jim Naftel.
The county manager does not control the probate judge’s spending, but county accountants and staff members process the spending requested by the presiding judge.
In a statement to AL.com through her attorneys, Blanchard said she remains committed to digitizing and modernizing the probate court, and that’s how the money was spent.
“I wanted to build community engagement, expand outreach and improve the communication infrastructure with all citizens of Jefferson County,” she said. “We hired experienced consultants to streamline services for residents and redesigned how information and services are delivered to the citizens of Jefferson County.”
Blanchard, who took office in early 2025, approved spending of at least $637,000 to CBG Strategies LLC, a Birmingham-based political and public relations firm led by Lindsey McAdory.
Reached by AL.com, McAdory declined to comment, saying his firm has a policy of not discussing clients. But McAdory said his work is detailed in his contract with the court. AL.com has requested a copy of the contract.
AL.com obtained detailed spending records from the probate court’s discretionary account.
While most check entries are labeled as “professional services,” a few notes give some indication of what CBG provided. Those services include a note on a $31,301 check entry, dated May 2025, for “direct mail reimbursement” and a similar note for a $22,331 check in May 2026.
The probate court under Blanchard also paid $450,000 to Greene Consulting Group LLC. Most of those entries were labeled generally as professional services. The Huntsville-based government affairs and consulting company was founded by Samuel T. Greene II.
Greene previously served as a legislative aide and outreach coordinator in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the director of governmental affairs for the Madison County Commission, according to a 2024 press release.
Greene was also a lobbyist registered with the state of Alabama, according to public records.
AL.com’s calls and messages to Greene were not returned.
Additionally, Blanchard spent $142,000 for radio ads, some of which featured her giving guidance on how to prepare for upcoming elections. The probate judge is the county’s elections official.
Records show spending from the probate court fund included at least $9,400 in photography.
A photo invoice entry in October 2025 detailed $850 in services for photos for assistant Probate Judge Jacqueline Knox, Blanchard’s appointed deputy judge. Other photos listed include headshots for staff members and images showcasing office and community events.
Spending from the discretionary fund also included thousands more for office furnishings and donations to community health and neighborhood organizations.
Probate Judge Alan King, at the time, sought to create the fund to pay for preserving millions of pages of documents that spanned nearly 200 years, including property records, marriage licenses and military papers. Some of those records were crumbling in the courthouse basement archives.
The fund is supported by fees charged to the public for documents filed in probate court. According to the legislation, the fund would also pay the salary for a judicial assistant.
King told AL.com that he used a two-tiered system of checks and balances when spending money from the fund.
“While I was the Jefferson County Probate Judge, every expenditure from the archival and technology fund was made with the prior approval of the county attorney’s office, who are the attorneys for probate court and for other county departments, and with the prior approval of the Alabama State Auditor’s Office,” he said.
King served four terms as a probate judge, beginning with his election in 2000, until his retirement as presiding probate judge in 2020.
State legislation that created the fund gives the probate judge a degree of flexibility in using the money, but stipulates that beyond improved archive-related systems and equipment, the money must be used for “services necessary for the improvement of the office of the judge of probate.”
The probate court’s discretionary fund includes several bank accounts that are separately managed from the Jefferson County budget. AL.com has requested additional details regarding fund totals and historic spending.
In her statement to AL.com, Blanchard said spending under her direction was done for the benefit of the citizens.
“These efforts culminated into strategic planning and execution of a mobile app, a robust social media and digital/physical communications plan, a more efficient case management system, and an ADA-compliant website, a more efficient land records system, and various community engagement opportunities for our residents hosted by the courthouse with all aimed at delivering faster, better services to our citizens,” Blanchard said.
While the legislation specifically names the use of the fund to preserve records and pay for an assistant, it does not reference any other specific types of spending.
The absence of guardrails and specific language regarding the use of public funds is problematic, said Jim Sumner, a retired longtime director of the Alabama Ethics Commission.
“Public funds should be generally limited to the stated purpose for which they were established,” Sumner told AL.com. “Public monies which can be dispersed solely at the discretion of an office holder, without any guidelines or restrictions, is an invitation for abuse and misuse. From an ethical perspective, it is simply not good public policy.”
Susan Pace Hamill, a University of Alabama Professor Emerita of Law who specializes in business organizations and ethics, questioned the spending.
“In this case, we can charitably deem the narrative as an example of an attempt to engage in ‘creative interpretation’ of the law,” Hamill said.
Like Sumner, Hamill said she was concerned about the lack of guidance and regulations for a public fund that generates millions of dollars. Hamill said the rules are too broad and rely too much on the honesty of the judges in charge.
“This is why it is important to vigorously scrutinize for abuse of flexible standards and then harshly penalize obvious violations of the spirit of the law,” Hamill said. “Public funds don’t come from the sky - these funds have been extracted from taxpayers and blatant abuse of the funds erode taxpayer confidence, which is already quite low in Alabama.
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Suspended judge spent more than $1 million on PR firms and radio ads from discretionary fund
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