Judge Lauren Adams Ogden Suspended: Eight Cases, One Pattern

The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission has suspended Jefferson Family Court Judge Lauren Adams Ogden for 30 days without pay. The suspension runs from midnight November 8 through 11:59 p.m. December 8,

1. She must also complete, at her own expense, a course on conducting hearings and due process. Judge Ogden waived formal proceedings and agreed to the order.

The Commission said it received "numerous complaints" and "comprehensively reviewed all video and written records." It found that she violated seven rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct. She failed to follow the law and to perform her duties competently. She failed to be fair and impartial and to act without bias. She failed to give parties the right to be heard. And she failed to keep order and decorum. It also found misconduct in office under SCR 4.020(1)(b).

The order is built on eight family-court cases. In five of them, a higher court had already stepped in. The Court of Appeals vacated or reversed her rulings four times and granted emergency relief in a fifth. The Chief Justice of Kentucky also had to remove her from a case after she refused to step aside.

We are covering each case separately:

• A Mother in Nevada, a Hearing She Never Knew About, and a Child Taken From School (Young v. Young). The Court of Appeals said she "blatantly violated a parent's due process rights" and ordered the child returned to the mother.
• "I Just Have to Decide Who to Believe" (Snyder v. Snyder). A domestic violence order was entered with no findings, after the judge urged the respondent to accept an order before hearing any evidence and refused to look at his documents.
• Hearsay, a Legal Aid Number, and a Champagne-Glass Shirt Under the Robe (West v. Romine). A domestic violence order rested on what a nine-year-old supposedly said. The Court of Appeals found the judge "did not appear to be dispassionate."
• Death Threats on Tape, a Guilty Plea — and a Drug Test for the Victim (Maupin v. Garrard). Reversed with directions to grant the domestic violence order, followed by disqualification by the Chief Justice.
• "They Don't Do What I Do Every Day" (Vannatta v. Vannatta). After the Court of Appeals reversed her, she took six months and five hearings to restore a father's parenting time.
• The Hearing That Was Cancelled, Then Wasn't (De Almeida v. Smith). Custody was changed in the courtroom, after testimony the father's lawyer said he could not hear.
• "Sit in the Corner and Be Quiet" (Watts v. Sharp). A servicemember was muted, called "rogue," and threatened with a psychiatric evaluation without any basis in the record.
• The Mute Button as a Pattern (Gist v. Pedro). Repeatedly silencing the party appearing by Zoom.

Thirty days

In setting the sanction, the Commission credited Judge Ogden with acknowledging the concerns and "accept[ing] responsibility." It noted changes she has made so that every party, including those without lawyers, gets "a full opportunity to be heard," the record shows the reasons for her rulings, and "rulings of the Court of Appeals are implemented promptly and completely."

Those are the minimum standards for any courtroom. Each of the eight posts shows what it cost the families involved when they were not met. Readers can judge for themselves whether thirty days is proportionate.

Source: Ky. Judicial Conduct Commission, Agreed Order of Suspension, In re Lauren Adams Ogden.