A Birmingham woman who lost her bid for an Alabama House seat has dropped her lawsuit accusing Jefferson County's suspended probate judge of trying to sway her race. Mara Ruffin Blackmon filed a motion in September to voluntarily withdraw the case, and Circuit Judge Chuck Price granted it on September 17, closing the matter.
Blackmon had run against incumbent Rep. Patrick Sellers in the District 57 Democratic primary and accused suspended Probate Judge Yashiba Blanchard, who also serves as Jefferson County's chief elections official, of trying to influence the outcome of her race, according to AL.com. In her original complaint, Blackmon alleged that Blanchard invited her to dinner in January 2026 and offered to refund her campaign expenses if she withdrew from the race, according to 1819 News. The case was dismissed with prejudice.
Allegations Centered on a Pastor's Church as Polling Site
Blackmon also challenged the appropriateness of using Sellers' Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church as a polling place, since Sellers serves as the church's pastor, and alleged impropriety at polling sites in both Birmingham and Midfield. The church is a Birmingham polling place and has been used as a polling location in previous elections. The case was originally filed in the Bessemer Division of circuit court before being transferred to the Birmingham Division and Judge Price.
Sellers denied the allegations against him, calling the legal filing frivolous. He said he remained confident in the legal process and committed to allowing the facts to speak for themselves, and that he plans to focus on his official duties as a state legislator. Sellers won the race decisively, taking 61.14 percent of the vote to Blackmon's 32.79 percent, with Shamyia Atkins drawing the remaining votes, according to exact totals reported by Ballotpedia showing 5,454 votes for Sellers and 2,925 for Blackmon out of 8,920 cast. It was Sellers' second-term win in the seat.
Blanchard's Defense Calls Complaints Unfounded
Blanchard's attorney, Matt Hart, said Blackmon's lawsuit against the judge had no merit and that many complaints against Blanchard were unfounded and politically motivated. Hart, a former Hubbard prosecutor, joined Blanchard's defense in August alongside attorney Jess Nix, who requested a delay in Blanchard's Court of the Judiciary ethics trial amid more than 70 potential witnesses, per the same 1819 News report on her defense team.
Blanchard's legal troubles extend well beyond the now-closed Blackmon case. She was suspended from the bench after a 120-page unrelated state complaint accused her of bullying and other misconduct, and she has denied all of the charges. Blanchard has said the state is treating her unfairly compared with other judges, that the Judicial Inquiry Commission is trying to regulate and punish speech, and that the court system is being used to overturn her lawful election to the bench. A judge is automatically suspended when the Judicial Inquiry Commission brings a case to the Court of the Judiciary, a process explained by Yellowhammer News.
Interim Judges Keep Probate Court Running
Since Blanchard's suspension, Jefferson County Presiding Circuit Judge Elisabeth French appointed retired Probate Judge Sherri Friday to handle daily probate court cases and retired Circuit Judge Carole Smitherman to serve as interim chief election official, keeping both sensitive family and estate matters and election oversight functioning in Alabama's most populous county. Blanchard is scheduled to face trial before the Court of the Judiciary on December 7 on seven formal charges tied to the Judicial Inquiry Commission complaint.
Blanchard made history when she was elected in November 2024 with 52.22 percent of the vote, becoming, along with colleague Jameria Moore, one of the first two Black women elected as probate judges in Jefferson County, according to The Birmingham Times. Alabama law prohibits curbside voting. With Blackmon's civil case now closed permanently, the county's attention turns to Blanchard's December trial, where the unrelated misconduct charges — not the election interference claims — will be decided.
