On Thursday, March 13, 2025, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that a Kentucky prosecutor is seeking the disqualification of a circuit judge from all criminal cases in light of the judge’s admission of personal bias. The request was made to the Kentucky Supreme Court following Judge David Barber’s verbal recusal from cases involving Commonwealth’s Attorney Ashton McKenzie.
This situation arose after Barber stated in a Bath County courtroom that McKenzie was biased against him because she was prosecuting a criminal case related to a family member. During proceedings on March 6, Barber accused McKenzie of waging an “assault” on his family due to the prosecution’s efforts to confiscate property linked to a family member charged with drug offenses.
In response to the judge’s comments, McKenzie indicated that Barber should recuse himself if he felt personally attacked by the actions of prosecutors performing their duties. Following this exchange, Barber agreed to recuse himself from all criminal cases involving McKenzie and subsequently dismissed hearings for the remainder of that day.
While it is standard practice for judges to recuse themselves from specific cases due to conflicts of interest, it is highly unusual for a judge to disqualify themselves from all cases involving a particular prosecutor, especially one who serves as the chief law enforcement official in the circuit.
In his court filings, Barber later attempted to reverse his decision, arguing that broad recusal would unduly burden the local court system. He proposed that McKenzie utilize her assistants to handle cases instead of disqualifying him. “To grant said recusal would overly burden the system, including the clerks and other court personnel,” Barber stated.
McKenzie, however, contends that the situation is unprecedented and asserts that the integrity of the judicial process must be upheld. In her affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, she expressed concerns that without disqualification, the community cannot trust that prosecutions will be conducted fairly before Barber.
Barber’s actions have raised additional allegations from McKenzie, including claims that he had bullied her staff and misused his judicial authority to acquire information relevant to the ongoing prosecution against his family member. She emphasized that his behavior was detrimental to the rights of victims in the circuit who rely on a judge’s impartiality.
Barber was appointed to his position in 2020 by Governor Andy Beshear, while McKenzie was appointed in 2023 and later elected in November 2024. If the Kentucky Supreme Court grants McKenzie’s request, Barber would be removed from presiding over criminal cases, with those cases reassigned to another judge within a different division.
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader
