LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In a first-of-its-kind ruling in the state, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Judicial Conduct Commission doesn't have the authority to permanently remove a judge from the bench.Â
The order was addressed in the case of Circuit Judge Jamie Jameson of Marshall and Calloway, who was permanently barred from serving as a judge after being found guilty by the commission of seven counts of misconduct in November 2022.Â
Jameson, who attracted national attention when he illegally sealed the court file in the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting, was permanently removed after the commission deemed him "unfit" for office and unanimously found him guilty of multiple ethics violations.Â
While the high court did not agree with the findings in all of the charges from the commission, the justices did agree his removal from office was appropriate.
"The evidence demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Jameson committed numerous, intentional, and varied acts of misconduct," according to the order.
However, a majority of the court ruled that the state Judicial Conduct Commission does not have the authority to permanently remove a judge from office.
Only the state legislature has the power to permanently impeach an elected official, according to the ruling, which the justices noted was the first time the issue has been addressed in Kentucky.Â
Justice Angela Bisig disagreed with the majority, arguing the commission removed Jameson just two months before his term expired, meaning he could run again if not permanently removed.
"Limiting the Commission’s ability to remove judges poses great risks to the public and its confidence in our judiciary and compromises the Commission’s role in maintaining an effective and ethical judiciary," Bisig wrote.
Jameson was seeking re-election.
The commission found, among other violations, that James pressured a lawyer practicing in his court to support his reelection campaign; improperly held people in contempt of court; retaliated against a deputy sheriff whom he believed had leaked video of the judge walking around the courthouse in his underwear and tried to block the commission’s investigation.
Attorney Richard Walter, who represents Jameson, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.Â
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