KY Judge Suspended for Denying Father's Rights and Acting as Advocate for Mother
November 11th, 2009 by Robert Franklin, Esq.On the second count, the commission found that Gormley entered a change of custody order that removed a child from the custody of her father but denied the father the right to put on his own evidence. Gormley, the commission found, acted as an advocate for the mother in that case.
A Kentucky family court judge has been found guilty of two charges of judicial misconduct and suspended from judicial practice for 45 days. Judge Tamra Gormley had a third charge dismissed. The first charge was for denying a hearing to a man whom she had found in contempt of court. The second was for denying a father a hearing when she removed his child from his custody. Read about it here (Lexington Herald-Leader, 11/3/09)
I don't know about Kentucky, but here in Texas, it's mighty hard to suspend a judge because of misconduct on the bench. Alcohol and drug abuse, yes, but not what they do in the conduct of their office. As to attorneys generally, when the state bar disciplines one, the stated reason is almost always just the tip of the iceberg. The bar will say it disciplined so-and-so because she "neglected a client matter, failed to return phone calls, etc." But there are many other, often more serious charges that go unmentioned.
My guess is that the same is true of this judge. If these three complaints are the only ones against her, I'll eat my hat. She sounds like a rogue judge - one who thinks the robe permits her to conduct herself and her courtroom any way she chooses. Read what the Judicial Conduct Commission said about her:
Gormley's actions "were not mere legal error," the ruling says. "A reasonably prudent and competent judge would conclude the conduct of Judge Gormley to be obviously and seriously wrong in all the circumstances of the cases."
Those words describe a rogue judge. Notice too that what she did was to deny due process to two men in family law matters. I'd bet money there are plenty more where those two came from. The good news is that, once a judge like Gormley has come to the attention of a judicial oversight body, she'll have to mind her Ps and Qs for a long time or she'll get busted again.
With any luck, the voters will save the Commission the trouble.
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November 11th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
"The first charge was for denying a hearing to a man whom she had found in contempt of court."
Hurray! That is a major development!. although I find the mention of a "hearing" - not "just hearing" disturbing. Well, a judge can give him a "hearing" but render it unjust by dismissing/ignoring whatever the person says and that would have gotten this judge what she wanted to accomplishing.
Still this is much to celebrate. It is unfair for a person to be "judged" by a person whose position, power and authority is not susceptible to question or contempt without retribution.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Robert, knowing that you aren't a lawyer from Kentucky (or even play one on TV), if a Texas judge happened to get that sort of suspension and was stupid enough to do the same type of error again, what would be the next level of discipline? would we be talking about a full removal from the bench or something less harsh?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Of course the big problem here is that we have countless family court judges that act as advocates for women. This one was just so stupid she didn't bother going through the motions before becoming "mom's judge."
November 11th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
It has now been 25 years since I was admitted to the Bar and, I can say without hesitation that every county has judges that every attorney knows it's best not to be in front of. Every county has judges who are widely known to be mean and punitive. Every county has judges who are widely known to be biased. While appointing judges does not create a judicial utopia, at least it isn't as much of a gamble as electing them. And in my state, pretty soon we're going to have more women on the bench than are actually practicing law -- they win almost automatically because when the electorate knows nothing about the candidates, women vote for women. That is not a good system by any reasonable measure.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Just shows the world how men are truly treated...
November 11th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
If this 'Judge' was a man and he was doing this to women he would be fired!
November 12th, 2009 at 12:14 am
did some research on her and read alot of comments from various folk that are in her judicial area...geez what a stinking load of crap to put on the bench! This is exactly why so many men have so many problems with their ex's...because they WON'T FOLLOW THE RULES!!!
Of course if you read all of the women's comments in various threads they absolutely ADORE her! Things like "she is the best judge" and "thank god she is on the bench".
She is an activist judge with an agenda. She will never be fair and should be disbarred forever. She has gotten what she so richly deserves...
November 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Is it just me, or does every stinking woman commenting about her ex say that he is on drugs??? Is there some kind of drug epidemic that only strikes non-custodial fathers? I don't know any NC dads on drugs...where is all of this coming from?
November 12th, 2009 at 1:02 am
About time one of these feminist Robbespierres was disciplined. May there be many more, and may they be publicly shamed with dismissal and time in those jails they are so fond of.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Give western pig women the husband they derserve - NONE
November 12th, 2009 at 1:35 am
The most powerful wepon men have against women is to ignore them
less equals more
November 12th, 2009 at 1:38 am
I get laid all the time because I ignore them, Tom Leykis is 110 percent correct on women.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:40 am
I'm sorry I was just seeking eternal victim status for men...
November 12th, 2009 at 7:50 am
As a Kentucky resident and a single father, I can the incidence of fairness based on gender neutrality is indeed small.
The last time I was in front of the judge in my case, there was a request for more visitation by the NCP. This is exactly how the conversation went.
Judge: Mr. _______, how much more visitation do you want?
Me: Your Honor, I have custody.
Judge: (Long pause) Oh, yeah. You're that one guy.
True Story.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:05 am
mike Says:
November 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Is it just me, or does every stinking woman commenting about her ex say that he is on drugs??? Is there some kind of drug epidemic that only strikes non-custodial fathers? I don't know any NC dads on drugs...where is all of this coming from?
Now that you mention it Mike...I've noticed the exact same thing. I read a TON of legal forums daily and almost every single time a woman is complaining about her ex, whether it be for child support, custody or whatever, he is almost 100% of the time a "drug addict". I guess that's just the most convenient accusation for these women. I mean after all...it can't possibly be THEIR fault can it?
But back to the topic at hand...in reading the comments to this story, it seems like this judge has made ultra biased decisions in a LOT of cases. I'm very happy to see she finally got called on it. She needs to be removed from the bench...period.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Mike and Laurie,
I've noticed the same thing. The soon-to-be-ex-husband is always a drug addict, who "ignores me and is emotionally abusive, " Also, I've noticed when someone has an affair, they describe it as "rediscovered love" or "found a part of me that I thought was dead a long time ago".
Back on topic, it's nice to see one biased judge reprimanded for actions such as these. Although seriously, a lot more should have been done to her for such biased and unconstitutional actions as the ones she did. Still, one down, God-only-knows how many more to go.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Children are not womens commodities that they can stash away, ignore, and neglect, .but still collect child support on.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Calloway:
To add to you list my ex brother in law justified the affair my wife was having with his long time friend and accountant as this;
"Well they were two consenting adults." So according to this chap as long as there are two consenting adults you can ignore your vows of fidelity or wedding vows or what ever may bond a husband and wife as inconsequential as long as there are "consenting adults" when they have an affair and destroy countless lives with their reckless infidelity.
Attila
November 12th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Sorry everyone, but I did not drink or do drugs......My EX said I was mentally unstable, a pedafile and a child abuser. It was funny that when I agreed to have a psycological evaluation done if she would also have one done, she reluctantly agreed to it and the court ordered it. When it came time to have the psycological evaluation done, she would not comply with the court order. When I filed that she was not complying, she of course found it to be unnecessary anymore and the judge said we do not need to do it.
It is nice to see a judge finally held accountable. How many others happened before the slap on the hand happend ? That is all it was.....a hand slap. The law needs to be written more concrete and I do not think these judges need so much room to wiggle. I have always thought it was supposed to be the legislatures duty to make law, but in family court it seems the judicial branch also has that authority. I had wait two before I could keep my child overnight and have the Texas Standard order take affect when he turned two. The Texas Family Code says the "standard order" should take affect at 3 years. When I discussed this issue with one of my elected officials, I was told that if I lived in ________county, I would not have had to wait. There was only one problem. I did not live in that county. AGAIN, a judges bias would set the law. I personally do not think that is what our founding fathers here in Americal had in mind.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:04 am
In Toronto Justice Marvin Zucker, who is also a law professor, was caught altering court transcripts in a case before him. Harry Kopyto, who’s case was before him, noticed the pitiful unlawful act committed by a Judge and went through hell to finally have him formally charged as the Attorney General did everything to evidently protect this dishonest Judge. Here is a link to the article in the Globe and Mail.
http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/judges/zuker_marvin/2006Oct06-JudgeToFaceMiconductProbe.pdf
I know Harry personally and he is one of the most knowledgeable legal minds I know. I can reach him 7 days a week at early or late hour if need be. He is hated by many in the legal profession as he stands up for the small people and is not afraid to go up against, Judges, lawyers, Police, Government and others. So they (Law Society/Marvin Zuker) attempted to destroy him by bringing vexatious charges against him that were simply a ploy to ruin him. In the end he was exonerated and later out of spite he was accused of cheating legal aid which I know to be a ploy and a sham that had him disbarred. He never bothered to change that as he does not feel good about belonging to that group anyways. Here is a link to a video of Harry recently in court describing what he is fighting for. http://www.vimeo.com/7345005
In this case judges Luzerne County President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., 58, and his predecessor, Senior Judge Michael T. Conahan, 56 will serve seven years in jail under a plea agreement. Sometimes Judges are caught and nailed for their ill actions but more often they are not! That ought to be an interesting seven years for these two Judges in jail with other inmates they may have sent to prison???
http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/Newpaper%20Articles/2009Jan28%20-%20%20Judges%20Sentenced%20in%20Kids%20for%20Cash%20Scam.pdf
At least Judge Tamra Gormley was reprimanded as reported in the Lexington Herald-LeaderSadly in Ontario Canada, we have Judges who alter court transcripts (some even disappear altogether), Judges order OPP (police) to actually LOCK the public out from court proceedings so they can have secret judicial proceedings, Judges who are charged with DUI do continue to preside over other DUI drivers sentence them and so on. Makes me wonder what justice we actually have?
In Ontario when Judges fail to perform their crucial duties, they are allowed to solder on without any or much repercussion! Citizens are expected to respect the law and pay the price for violating them, while Judges and others in the clique live above the law!
Attila
November 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
As much as spell check is a great tool it can also create some funny mistakes.
I meant to write soldier on and not solder on
"In Ontario when Judges fail to perform their crucial duties, they are allowed to soldier on without any or much repercussion! Citizens are expected to respect the law and pay the price for violating them, while Judges and others in the clique live above the law! "
Attila
November 12th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
In the "can you believe they said that!!" category:
Gormley wants the new judge to serve as a resource for families as well as a decision-maker.
"The court system, especially domestic sessions, are incredibly adversarial, as you might imagine," she said. "This should be more of a problem-solving court, helping families and connecting them with resources," she said.
This is a quote taken from the Gerogetown News. Man this is rich considering her actions later. She should have said "This should be more of a problem solving court as long as the women gets everything she wants"
too rich
The Other Mike D
November 12th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Not bad. A 45-day vacation for abuse of power and the knowledge that she'll return to the bench to perpetrate more of the same. Talk about cruel and unusual...