Posted 3/17/23

In a story that won’t go away…

A retired Marshall County judge will preside over the next court proceedings involving former Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely.

The Alabama Supreme Court assigned retired Marshall County Circuit Judge Allen Jolley to preside over Blakely’s latest attempt to overturn his convictions.

In February, Blakely’s legal team filed a more than 100-page Rule 32 petition claiming the conviction was obtained by a judge not authorized to practice law in the State of Alabama. This was unknown until after the trial concluded.

The petition filed in Limestone County Circuit Court says it’s clear Judge Baschab did not have authority to preside over the case. Therefore, the convictions, as well as sentencing order, are void.

No date has been set for preliminary hearings in this case.