(LEX 18) The Judicial Conduct Commission has released a Notice of Formal Proceedings and Charges for Judge Beth Lewis Maze, the Circuit Court Judge 21st Judicial Circuit.
This stems from accusations that Beth ordered her ex-husband, former Bath County attorney Donald "Champ" Maze, to be drug tested even though she wasn’t assigned to his district court case.
The order was signed by Judge Beth Maze.
The Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct clearly states, "A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned…"including if the judge’s spouse or domestic partner, or a person within the third degree of relationship to either of them is . . . a party to the proceeding."
LEX 18’s Leigh Searcy asked Judge Maze why she did it. Judge Maze told LEX 18 that no other judges were available and that she would have done it for anyone.
The document from the Judicial Conduct Commission states that Judge Maze believes that the circumstances qualify her as an exception to the Canons she is charged with violating, specifically Rule 2.11, comment 3.
Beth Lewis Maze represents Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties.
