Kentucky judge agrees to 2-week suspension without pay

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A Kentucky judge has been suspended for allowing a woman to be jailed for two months without setting bond or holding a hearing on the charge.

The state’s Judicial Conduct Commission says Judge Vernon Miniard Jr. agreed to the two-week suspension without pay.

He’ll serve the suspension in December. Miniard is chief circuit judge for a district spanning Russell and Wayne counties.

The commission says Miniard violated judicial canons by allowing Christy Cooper-Stinson to be incarcerated more than two months without setting bond or holding a hearing on her contempt charge.

The judge said Tuesday he won’t make excuses, adding: “You get busy and sometimes things slip by you.”

Miniard issued the arrest warrant when authorities believed Cooper-Stinson was evading efforts to serve her a subpoena in a drug case.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

Categories: News, State News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *