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.
“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.
The
Jefferson County Probate Court Archive Fund was established by the
State Legislature in 2012, primarily to preserve and digitize county
records.
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.
Full Article & Source:
Suspended judge spent more than $1 million on PR firms and radio ads from discretionary fund
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