Panel reprimands Kentucky judge who called woman a liar before handling her case
A state panel has reprimanded a Kentucky judge who presided over a woman’s case even though he had called her a liar and a thief on Facebook.
Judge Robert F. Wright, a district judge in Pike County, waved formal proceedings in the case and agreed to the reprimand, according to the state Judicial Conduct Commission.
The commission said it received two complaints on Wright.
One involved two traffic cases against a woman who had been a client of Wright’s before he became a judge. Wright had represented the woman, Angel Watson, in two custodial interference cases in 2017.
Wright posted a video during his 2018 campaign for judge calling her a “liar and a thief,” the Judicial Conduct Commission said in an order released Thursday.
Watson was heavily involved against him in the campaign, Wright told the Herald-Leader.
When Watson faced tickets for speeding and having an expired license plate this year, she asked him to recuse himself and requested appointment of a special judge, according to the commission order.
Wright held a hearing in the case in March while the request for the special judge was pending.
Wright said in an interview that he had received an opinion from a judicial ethics committee about the issue and had relied on it in handling of the proceeding.
The other allegation against Wright involved a small-claims action a woman filed to try to get back her boat.
Wright held a hearing on the request the same day the woman filed it in February, even though the defendant had not been served with the complaint or given an opportunity to respond, according to the commission.
Wright ordered the return of the boat, but rescinded that order the same day.
Wright said both complaints had an affiliation with his opponent in the contentious 2018 district judge race, and that he felt that was a factor.
The commission said Wright violated a number of rules governing judges’ conduct.
Those included rules requiring judges to act in ways that promote confidence in their independence, integrity and impartiality; to give every party the right to be heard; and to give up cases in which their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
