The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has turned down the appeals of two death row inmates who argued their convictions should be overturned because their trials were presided over by a disgraced former federal judge whom they allege was “impaired” during their proceedings.

Walter Smith, who served as a U.S district judge in Waco for 32 years, was punished by the Fifth Circuit in 2015 after it concluded he made unwanted sexual advances against a female court employee in 1998. The employee also alleged that Smith had been drinking before some of his interactions with her, and that Smith’s court clerk had to cancel his hearings because he had “been in the hospital” and was “not functioning.” Smith retired from the bench in 2016, which allowed him to avoid impeachment and keep his lifetime salary.