LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Melissa Logan Bellows will be taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with “serious health issues,” she announced this week on social media.
“I’m in excellent hands with a great team of doctors while my family and I navigate our way through this difficult period,” she wrote, adding that a retired judge will take her place.
Bellows, who was elected in 2022, issued a controversial opinion last March ordering that a convicted felon can't be prosecuted on a firearms charge because it violates his Second Amendment rights.
She ruled it was unconstitutional for prosecutors to move forward with their case against Jecory Lamont Frazier under a state law prohibiting felons from owning a gun because it doesn’t outweigh the Second Amendment right that belongs to “all Americans.”
Attorney General Russell Coleman and Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers have asked the state Court of Appeals to review the ruling.
Retired Judge McKay Chauvin, currently serving as the Jefferson County Court Administrator, said in an email that “it isn’t clear how long” Bellows will need to be out to deal with her health issues.
“We hope to have her back soonest, but the priority obviously needs to be on her health,” he wrote.
Currently, retired Judge Steve Hayden has been appointed to cover Bellows' docket for the rest of January, according to Chauvin. Retired Judge Irv Maze will take over on Feb. 1.
Maze served on both the Jefferson Circuit Court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
“We are very fortunate to have such experienced judges available, willing, and extremely able to step up and step in to make sure that the cases on the Division 7 docket continue to get the attention they deserve,” Chauvin said.
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