He was reappointed to his seat on the Supreme Court four times, serving until the adoption of the 1851 Constitution of Indiana, which made his position subject to election rather than appointment. Defeated for the Whig party nomination to run for his office, he left the court in 1852. He was defeated again in the 1853 election to become Supreme Court Reporter, which led him to seek a position on the federal courts after briefly attempting to practice law. Appointed by President Franklin Pierce, he served as a Judge of the newly created Court of Claims dealing with financial claims against the federal government from 1855 until his death. During his lifetime Blackford accumulated a small fortune through the sale of his reports which was left to his only living relative, his half-sister Charlotte Teresa Coons.