Ky. may suspend judge over death penalty case

Editor's note: Your ProbateShark has received looks of hate from judges in the Probate Court of Cook County but has never been threated with strangulation.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

 

Ky. may suspend judge over death penalty case

BRETT BARROUQUER, Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press

Published 9:00 am, Monday, June 3, 2013

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A senior judge is facing a possible suspension over allegations of misbehavior and open displays of bias while on the bench, including an accusation that he threatened to strangle a defense attorney because of a phone call during a death penalty appeal.

The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday in Paducah for Judge Martin McDonald of Louisville, who faces two counts of violating the rules of judicial conduct. Commission attorney George Rabe, in a memo recommending McDonald's suspension from the bench, noted that the judge had a stroke about 18 months ago that limited his ability to filter what he says. Rabe also said McDonald missed two opportunities to meet with the commission about the allegations.

"Indeed, Judge McDonald's continued performance of his duties under these circumstances may jeopardize the legality of cases he presides over," Rabe wrote.

McDonald's lawyer, Timothy Denison, said the judge denies any allegations of wrongdoing. Denison also noted that McDonald completed his term as a senior judge on Friday, depriving the commission of the ability to discipline him. Senior judges are retired jurists who take on appointments to hear cases in special circumstances.

"He will not return to the bench nor will he adjudicate any further pending legal issues, disputes or rulings in any cases that were formerly pending before him," Denison wrote.

The allegations against McDonald stem from two separate, unrelated cases in Jefferson Circuit Court.

In the death penalty case, McDonald had been assigned to hear an appeal by 63-year-old Roger Dale Epperson, who is awaiting execution along with a co-defendant for the June 1985 slayings of Ed and Bessie Morris.

During the hearing on Sept. 28, 2012, McDonald addressed public defender David Barron directly, telling him "if you ever call me on my cellphone again, I'll strangle you" and said he would have Barron's law license "yanked" if such a call were made in the future.

McDonald then ordered that Epperson should be removed from a holding cell, saying, "bring his carcass out here."

Throughout an abbreviated hearing that was videotaped, only one witness testified. McDonald appeared disheveled and said Barron's allegations "have bordered on the ridiculous" and that he was "making a mountain out of a molehill." McDonald also referred to defense appeal attorneys as "backseat drivers" who didn't try the case.

"You've never been in the heat of battle in one of these cases, and now you're criticizing lawyers that actually are real lawyers that do the work, the dirty work, the down-in-the-trenches work," McDonald said.

In the other case, McDonald is accused of refusing to let a defendant representing himself present any argument because he wasn't a lawyer. McDonald ruled against that defendant and awarded the plaintiffs $11,000 in attorney's fees.

Jimmy Schaffer, executive secretary of the Judicial Conduct Commission, charged McDonald with engaging in misconduct in office, failing to observe high standards of conduct, and showing bias and prejudice against the public defender's office.

Disciplining a judge is unusual in Kentucky. In 2011-2012, the most recent time frame for which data is available, the commission concluded 274 complaints. Only 8 resulted in sanctions, and only one of those led to a judge being removed from office.

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Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Ky-may-suspend-judge-over-death-penalty-case-4571777.php#ixzz2VuIvzppP