BURBANK, Calif. — The judge who presided over Robert Blake's $30 million wrongful death trial denied the actor's request for a retrial Monday, but the "Baretta" star's attorney says he will take the actor's fight to the state court.

"It's not over yet," defense attorney Gerald Schwartzbach told Courttv.com. "Not by a long shot."

"I intend to file a notice of appeal by the end of the week," Schwartzbach said.

The attorney led Blake to victory at his criminal trial in March 2005 when a jury deliberated for nine days to find the veteran film and TV star not guilty of the May 2001 shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

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However, eight months later, a civil jury found Blake, 72, liable for his 44-year-old wife's wrongful death and ordered him to pay $30 million, to be split evenly among Bakley's four surviving children.

Since that decision, Schwartzbach joined forces with Blake's civil attorney, Peter Ezzell, to appeal the judgment and call for a mistrial based on "egregious juror misconduct."

Ezzell told Courttv.com in a one-word email that he was "disappointed" with the judge's decision.

Blake's attorneys based their allegations on post-verdict interviews with jurors in which they found that several panelists allegedly discussed the case and their prejudice against the defendant before deliberations, that one juror allegedly argued that the Bible supported a liable verdict against Blake, and that a female juror allegedly withheld the fact that her daughter was in prison on a murder conviction.

In response, attorney Eric Dubin, who represents the Bakley family, presented the court with declarations from jurors who stated that the verdict was reached fairly and that comments about the Bible or criticisms of the defendant did not prejudice their deliberations.

Dubin told Courttv.com that misconduct claims are "much ado about nothing."

"I think it was 100 percent a fair verdict and there never was any reason to disturb it," Dubin said. "There was no juror misconduct. It was the Blake private investigators digging up a bunch of dirt that in the end was both disputed and meaningless ... I'm grateful that I was able to get these children justice for the killing of their mother."

Superior Court Judge David Schacter issued a simple two-page order Monday stating, "After considering all the papers filed and the arguments presented at this hearing, the Court denies the Defendant's motion for a new trial."

At a hearing on Friday, Schwartzbach argued that the actor's reputation was marred by a "tainted" verdict. It's not about money, the attorney argued, but about Blake's legacy.

But money is what it takes to engage in a lengthy appeals process, and it's still not certain how Blake, who recently filed for bankruptcy protection, will pay his attorneys.

"He's not paying me, and I'm not making much money representing him," Schwartzbach told Courttv.com, remarking that he once worked pro bono for 13 years to help free an innocent man from prison.

"I don't go away," Schwartzbach said. "It's not over."