A family court judge from Owensboro who allegedly destroyed evidence and called the presiding judge when her son was charged with assaulting her has been removed from office.
Judge Julia Hawes Gordon also held court late into the night, sometimes requiring parents and their children to appear after midnight.
And when a treatment center refused to test defendants for drugs, Gordon had her staff do so, despite their lack of training, and they put urine samples in the same refrigerator where they stored their lunch.
On Friday afternoon, the Judicial Conduct Commission issued a unanimous decision, ordering Gordon’s ouster from the bench.
“This case does not involve one or two isolated occurrences, but instead involves Judge Gordon’s pattern of misconduct and her repeated exercise of extremely poor judgment and her engagement in profoundly unwise action — on and off the Bench — that continued for years” the commission said in a 25-page opinion and order.
The panel said Gordon’s misconduct continued even after she learned she was the subject of a massive complaint.
“Judges should maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times, and avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives,” the commission said. “They should aspire at all times to conduct that ensures the greatest public confidence in their independence, impartiality, integrity, and competence.”
The commission said Gordon “failed in essentially every respect of this fundamental rule applicable to all judges.”
Gordon had already been suspended in December.
The commission said Gordon could have been disqualified based just on the first count of the complaint — that she sought to influence the amount of the bond in the case against her son and destroyed evidence against him.
The panel said that constituted misconduct in office and violated eight sections of the judicial canons of conduct.
The agency also said she violated ethics rules by appointing a criminal defense lawyer who represented her son as a guardian ad litem, allowing him to win fees.
And it said she tried to use her influence with the county jailer to win favorable treatment for her son.
The commission found by a 6-0 vote that Gordon violated five of the six counts of the complaint.
In a story in December, The Courier Journal reported Gordon told the agency in a letter that "she was acting as a mother" when she tried to help her son.
In a written response to the complaint, however, she acknowledged some of the allegations, including several involving him.
"As painful, embarrassing and expensive as this investigation has been, it has caused Judge Gordon to gain many insights that she respectfully submits will make her a better judge,” her lawyers said in the response.
"Judge Gordon has gained a clearer understanding of the reality that she is always a judge — on and off the bench. This is true even when she is acting as the parent of an addicted child with severe mental health issues, and even when she is a crime victim at the hands of that child."
Gordon, 42, who hails from an influential Owensboro family (a park and golf course are named for former Mayor Ben Hawes, her great uncle) was elected to her first term in 2016.
She was Daviess County’s first family court judge, and filed for re-election in November.
In
response to a request for comment, her lawyer, Kent Westberry, said:
"We are disappointed and disagree with this decision. We are currently
reviewing it carefully and after that review we will decide our steps
going forward."
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