By Jennifer Horton
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBRC) - The Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling confirming the circuit court has the power to act as a check on Jefferson County’s probate court, despite its broad powers. This case is also connected to a complaint involving suspended Jefferson County Probate Judge Yashiba Blanchard.
The unanimous ruling, written by Justice Will Sellers, rejected the argument that Jefferson County’s probate court answers to no one but the Alabama Supreme Court itself, due to a local act that provides additional power. It holds that circuit courts retain their statutory authority to oversee probate courts, including the power to issue a writ of mandamus forcing a probate judge to undo an order.
While this ruling may feel distant for everyday Alabamians who aren’t involved the court system, it’s highly relevant.
This ruling stems from a case involving vulnerable Alabamians who don’t have the ability to manage their own finances, including adults with severe disabilities, those with dementia and children who receive settlements, among others. A probate judge appoints a conservator to hold and spend that money and they must be accountable for every dollar. The accounts are subject to routine audits by the probate office.
The conservatorship case is also cited in a formal complaint filed against Jefferson County Probate Judge Yashiba Blanchard by the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC).
The complaint charges Blanchard with seven judicial ethics violations and outlines significant allegations involving the way she ran her office. These are not criminal charges, they are alleged violations of standards for Alabama judges. Blanchard denies all wrongdoing.
If the Court of the Judiciary finds Blanchard violated judicial standards, she could be removed from the bench.
How We Got Here
In January 2026, Blanchard ordered a forensic audit of roughly 146 cases. The fees for the accounting firm were to be paid out of each account with no cap. It’s worth noting, the Supreme Court ruling doesn’t decide whether that order was lawful.
The attorneys, Ripon Britton Jr. and Gregory H. Hawley, filed a petition, asking a Jefferson County circuit court judge to intervene in Blanchard’s forensic audit order. The petition stated Blanchard’s order lacked case numbers, names and directed a specific accounting firm, BAT Solution, L.L.C., to conduct forensic accountings on every estate Britton and Hawley had handled as conservator for previous administrations.
According to court records, of the roughly 146 cases, 14 were guardian-only matters with no money involved.
Of the remaining 132 conservatorship cases:
- 77
were closed with a final settlement filed, which had been examined by
the court’s own accounting staff and a judge’s final decree entered.
- 75 of those 77 cases had final judgments, legally the court no longer has jurisdiction to reopen without a finding of fraud or mistake.
- 18 cases had gone through a final hearing and were waiting on the judge to sign the closing paperwork.
- 37 cases were open, according to filings.
Britton and Hawley argued Blanchard’s order violated due process, exceeded the probate court’s authority and ignored Rule 53 of Alabama’s civil procedure rules which governs outside appointments and requires notice, a defined scope and case-specific findings. The circuit court agreed to freeze the order while it considered the case, explicitly directing Blanchard to take no further action to enforce it.
The JIC complaint cites that according to state law, land valuations are subtracted when determining bond amounts and were not needed for the bond evaluations.
On March 30, Presiding Jefferson County Circuit Judge Elisabeth French dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, referencing a prior Alabama Supreme Court case suggesting only the Supreme Court, not a circuit court, could review a Jefferson County probate order.
With the Supreme Court’s latest ruling, the case now goes back to Judge French with instructions to take up the petition.
“Nobody objects to auditing a conservator,” stated Alan Duke, one of the attorneys representing Britton and Hawley. ”The objection is to auditing cases the court had already audited and closed, without notice or cause, and charging an uncapped fee to the protected persons. The decision today that the circuit court has supervisory authority over the probate court allows the circuit court to hear that objection and decide whether the order itself was lawful.”
The JIC’s complaint directly references this case, citing it as evidence that Judge Blanchard engaged in a pattern and practice of exhibiting bias against Britton and Hawley, detailing legal issues from Jan. 2025 through the spring of 2026.
It cites, among other instances, that Blanchard filed a State Bar complaint against Britton in October 2025 seeking his suspension or disbarment. The Bar notified her on Jan. 26, 2026 that it would take no action. The forensic accounting order is dated three days later.
The complaint also lays out a timeline showing Britton had already filed detailed inventories in December and again in January that Blanchard did not flag as deficient. It also notes Blanchard’s office emailed Britton on Jan. 28 requesting an updated inventory of all assets for each estate.
Britton, according to the complaint, responded on Jan. 29, agreeing to provide that information - the same that Blanchard ordered the audit.
Separately, the complaint describes Blanchard filing a police report on Jan. 29, 2026, the same day as the forensic order, reporting that she felt threatened by Britton. Days later, photographs of Britton and Hawley were posted at Jefferson County Courthouse security checkpoints, which the complaint says led both attorneys to leave the city and retain criminal defense counsel out of fear of arrest.
So far, no hearing has been set in the circuit court case.
WBRC contacted Blanchard’s attorney Matt Hart. He declined to comment.
Full Article & Source:
Alabama Supreme Court rules circuit courts can check a probate judge’s power; why it matters to you
