Judge Refusing to Hear Any Case Involving a ‘Practicing Homosexual’ Refuses to Attend Disciplinary Hearing

Claimed It Would Not Be in the ‘Best Interests of the Child’ to Allow Same-Sex Couples or LGBT People to Be Parents

A Kentucky judge who made national headlines when he issued an edict announcing his refusal to hear adoption cases involving any “practicing homosexual” or “homosexual parties” on Friday refused to even show up to a state disciplinary hearing. 

Barren County family court Judge W. Mitchell Nance back in April warned local attorneys should they have LGBT clients they would have to find a different judge, citing his personal religious belief that it would not be in the “best interests of the child” to allow same-sex couples or LGBT people to be parents.

Judge Nance had the audacity to claim he was following the rule of law, framing his refusal to hear cases of LGBT people as a pre-emptive recusal based on personal bias. He called it “a matter of conscience”

Local civil rights activists saw it differently, and filed a complaint in May, saying Nance had violated Kentucky’s Code of Judicial Conduct. 

“Judge Nance has proven he cannot be entrusted with decisions that affect his diverse constituency and their families,” Chris Hartman, Director of the Fairness Campaign, said. “His inability to be impartial is a blight on his office and an insult to the 8,000-plus Kentucky children who need loving foster care and forever homes.”

In October, Judge Nance, who ran for re-election unopposed for his elected seat in 2014, announced he would resign, effective Saturday, December 16. 

RELATED: Judge’s Refusal to Hear Cases for ‘Practicing Homosexuals’ Is Tested for the First Time and Fails

One day before that resignation is effective, Nance did not show up for his hearing with the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission, The Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Hartman on Friday “said he thought Nance’s absence was ‘an insult to the process.'”

“It shows how flippantly he feels about this,” he told The Herald-Leader.

Despite Nance’s absence, the Judicial Conduct Commission held its hearing. Its decision is expected to be announced next week.

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

Image by Brent Moore via Flickr and a CC license

If you find NCRM valuable, would you please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism?