A Limestone County circuit judge has turned away an appeal bid by former Sheriff Mike Blakely to have his conviction and jail sentence overturned.

Judge Tim Jolley, in a seven-page decision, ruled that Pamela Baschab, a retired Jefferson County circuit judge, had authority to preside over Blakely’s 2021 trial.

Blakely, who served 38 years as sheriff, was automatically removed from the position when a Limestone County jury on Aug. 3, 2021, found him guilty of first-degree theft and using his public office for personal gain. He was sentenced to three years in the Franklin County Jail, which he is currently serving.

Blakely’s appeal argued that Baschab was not licensed to practice law at the time she presided over the trial.

Baschab was appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice to the Blakely case after every Limestone County judge recused themselves. However, Baschab’s law license lapsed for nonpayment of dues to the Alabama Bar Association the month before she took over Blakely’s case, according to the former sheriff’s lawyers.

Jolley, in his opinion, said Judge Baschab had, “at a minimum, de facto authority” because she had been appointed by the state chief justice, who is allowed to appoint a judge “irrespective of whether that judge maintains an active license…”

And he noted that Blakely’s attorneys did not object until more than a year after he was sentenced.

“This is not a situation where there is some evidence that the judge’s status was somehow concealed from the parties,” the judge wrote.