Kentucky’s Judicial Conduct Commission has publicly reprimanded a judge it says presided over a hearing featuring testimony from a witness with whom the judge had a “close personal relationship.” 

According to the Tuesday notice of reprimand, District Court Judge Brittany McKenna resigned on April 2. She also “fully cooperated in the matter, agreed to this sanction and has already implemented corrective measures to address the issues raised,” the commission said. 

Before her resignation, in September 2023, McKenna presided over a preliminary hearing that the judicial commission investigated over judicial conduct violations. McKenna was a judge in the 12th Judicial Circuit consisting of Henry, Oldham, and Trimble Counties.

“Unbeknownst to the prosecutor, Judge McKenna and the witness were, at the time of the hearing, engaged in a close personal relationship and had been for approximately two weeks,” the judicial commission said. “Despite her relationship with the witness, Judge McKenna presided over the hearing, heard the witness’s testimony, came to a determination about probable cause and referred the case to the grand jury.” 

According to the reprimand notice, the judge didn’t disclose the relationship after the hearing, either; the witness told the prosecutor. 

The commission ruled that she violated rules of judicial conduct that say judges must “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety” and rules that require judges to act with fairness and impartiality and that they be disqualified if their impartiality “might be reasonably questioned.” 

“Judge McKenna’s failure to recuse herself or otherwise disclose the nature of her relationship with the witness demonstrates a lack of judicial decorum and a serious ethical breach, and undermines public confidence in the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the judiciary and creates the appearance of bias or impropriety which can undermine the legitimacy of judicial decisions,” the reprimand states. 

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