Court gavel

The judge presiding over the upcoming criminal trial of Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely has denied a defense request to file certain motions under seal, records show.

Judge Pride Tompkins ruled on the defense motion late Wednesday. Defense attorneys had filed the motion to seal earlier this month.

Reasons for the request include the theft charges against the 10-term sheriff and the high-profile nature of the case.

“There are certain statements made in motions in limine and other pretrial motions we don’t want to get out to the public,” Marcus J. Helstowski, one of Blakely’s three defense attorneys, previous told The News Courier. “We don’t want the public to be tainted, and we don’t want members of the jury to have too much information regarding this case prior to coming into court.”

A motion in limine is a motion asking the court for an order preventing certain evidence from being presented by the other side during the trial.

On Tuesday, Tompkins issued an order stating all pretrial motions in the case must be filed by Feb. 19. He has set a hearing to rule on pretrial motions for Feb. 26 at the Limestone County Courthouse. Blakely’s trial begins Monday, March 9.

Blakely, who was first elected to the sheriff’s post in 1982, was indicted by a Limestone County grand jury in August 2019. He pleaded not guilty to the state’s 13-count indictment at his November arraignment.

Of the 13 counts against Blakely, 12 are felonies and one is a misdemeanor. The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and the FBI.