In an order entered today, Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton has denied the motion by the Beshear administration to have a judge disqualified from a lawsuit concerning the governor’s executive orders.
The lawsuit was filed by Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles and Attorney General Daniel Cameron in Scott County Circuit Court, to be heard by Judge Brian Privett. Governor Beshear’s administration had asked for Judge Privett to be disqualified, based on various social media posts showing Quarles and Privett at events and gatherings. In one of the posts, Privett refers to Quarles as “my friend.”
All such requests for disqualification go to the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, who carries out his or her own review and makes a decision whether grounds exist to appoint a different judge for the case.
Chief Justice Minton ruled that the social media posts did not prove a close enough relationship between the Privett and Quarles to justify disqualifying Privett.
The order entered by Minton into the record is here.
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