On Friday, April 17, 2026, AOL.com reported that Family Court Judge Angela Johnson will not recuse herself from the ongoing child support case involving ex-Governor Matt Bevin, despite his requests for her disqualification.

Judge Johnson filed an order on April 16 in Jefferson Circuit Court, asserting she has not sought media attention and has acted without bias during the proceedings. This includes her contempt of court order issued against Bevin last month, which did not include his ex-wife, Glenna Bevin, and her defense of other rulings in the case. She stated that disqualifying herself would be improper, as there are no grounds to do so, and would mean improperly avoiding her duty to render a decision.

Judge Johnson’s order is not subject to appeal; however, the Kentucky Supreme Court will consider it and issue a final ruling on whether she will remain on the case.

The order does vacate a portion of her March 23 contempt of court order that stated Bevin provided false testimony at a hearing earlier in March. Bevin stated in 2024 that the court had requested parties to the divorce to seal the case, and while Johnson said she “merely informed the parties that the option was available,” she understands how that comment “could possibly give Matt the impression that the Court suggested sealing the case.”

Bevin and his attorney, Jesse Mudd, have argued in legal filings that Johnson cannot afford him an impartial or fair trial, citing multiple rulings by the Court that are not grounded in law and appear motivated by personal bias and prejudice against Bevin.

Sentencing related to the March contempt ruling, which was issued over missed deadlines to turn over unredacted financial documents, is still pending in the Kentucky Court of Appeals. An active warrant for Bevin’s arrest was previously issued but later recalled by the Court of Appeals.

Glenna Bevin filed for divorce nearly three years ago, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce has been approved but is not fully finalized because one of the couple’s adopted children, Jonah Bevin, now 19, intervened in the case last year. Jonah is seeking retroactive child support, arguing he is owed support for the time he was in boarding schools for “troubled teens,” including one in Jamaica that was raided by law enforcement on abuse allegations.

Johnson has allowed the case to proceed, while Bevin’s attorney argues there is no precedent to allow an adult to seek retroactive child support. A trial had been scheduled for March 27 but has been indefinitely postponed. Jonah Bevin is one of four Ethiopian children the couple adopted in 2012.

 

 

Source: AOL.com