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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky judicial panel ordered that a judge accused of favoritism, dishonesty and other misconduct be removed from the bench, according to court documents released Monday.
The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission said it found Kenton County Family Court Judge Dawn Gentry, who was suspended from the bench in January, guilty on 10 of 12 charges against her. The ruling follows a weeklong misconduct hearing in August.
The commission found Gentry:
*Allowed alcohol to be stored and consumed in court offices
*Engaged in sexual acts with an attorney who continued to appear before her
*Had a romantic relationship with an employee of the court
*Was not candid or honest with the commission
*Coerced attorneys to donate and work on her campaign
*Utilized staff during work hours to work on her campaign
*Appointed attorneys to a panel in exchange for supporting her campaign
*Retaliated against attorneys by delaying their cases for not donating or working on her campaign
Another attorney, Katherine Schulz, resigned after she said Gentry retaliated against her. Schulz wrote in an affidavit never filed in court that she faced the judge's "wrath" when she rebuffed sexual propositions from the judge. Schulz also said she saw others punished for not sufficiently supporting the judge, either politically or by showing up for performances by the judge’s band, South of Cincy.
Gentry has 10 days to appeal the decision, the ruling said.
While none of the charges against Gentry involved criticism of her rulings, the panel said that it didn’t lessen the seriousness of her numerous instances of misconduct.
“This case does not involve one or two isolated occurrences, but instead involves a pattern of misconduct and repeated exercise of extremely poor judgment — on and off the Bench — by the Respondent that continued for over a year,” the commission wrote in its decision.
Gentry, 39, became a judge in 2016 when former Gov. Matt Bevin chose her to fill a vacancy. She was elected in 2018 to a four-year term.
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