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Ethics Panel Proceeds with Charges Against Judge Who Refused Gay Adoption Cases

Glasgow Daily Times

  A Kentucky ethics panel is proceeding with charges against a family court judge who refused to handle adoption cases involving gay and lesbian adults. 

  The judge resigned and asked to have the charges dismissed, but his request has been denied.

The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission has scheduled a hearing for Judge W. Mitchell Nance on December 15 – the day before his resignation takes effect. Nance has been a family court judge for Barren and Metcalf counties.

He filed a statement in April that that under no circumstances would he consider the adoption of a child by same sex parents to be in the child’s best interest. He asked attorneys to notify him of those cases, so could recuse himself.

Instead, the Judicial Conduct Commission filed charges against Nance for failing to respect and comply with the law, failing to hear matters assigned to him, and “manifesting by words or conduct a bias or prejudice…” based several conditions, including sexual orientation.

Attorneys for the 66-year-old Nance asked for the charges to be dismissed based on his resignation. However, the ethics commission is proceeding with the charges. 

Rhonda Miller began as reporter and host for All Things Considered on WKU Public Radio in 2015. She has worked as Gulf Coast reporter for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where she won Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and Green Eyeshade awards for stories on dead sea turtles, health and legal issues arising from the 2010 BP oil spill and homeless veterans.
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