The arrest warrant issued against Matt Bevin on Tuesday has now been recalled in an appeals ruling, which found it was improperly issued after the former Kentucky governor moved to disqualify the judge from his divorce case.
Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Audra J. Eckerle in an order Friday recalled the arrest warrant, writing that Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson issued it a day after Bevin’s filing that sought to disqualify her from the case.
Johnson found Bevin in contempt of court last week, as he did not meet the court-imposed deadline to turn over his financial records. The order stemmed from his estranged son Jonah Bevin’s intervention in the former governor’s divorce case, as he seeks financial support related to alleged abuse and abandonment when he was a minor.
Failing to meet another deadline on Tuesday, Johnson issued the arrest warrant and sentenced Bevin to 60 days in jail, unless he paid a $500 fine and turned over the financial records.
A day earlier, Bevin had filed a motion requesting the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court remove Johnson from the case, alleging she was biased against him and “using me as a political pinata.”
Eckerle’s ruling on Friday stated that under Kentucky case law, a trial judge cannot proceed with a case after an affidavit is filed to disqualify them — at least until the chief justice acts on the request or a special judge is designated.
Jefferson County records show that Bevin was not arrested ahead of the appeals court ruling on Friday to recall the warrant.
Jonah Bevin alleges that his parents abandoned him in a notorious and abusive Jamaican facility when he was 17 years old.
