Kentucky judge suspended over racially charged post

Avoiding possible banishment from the bench, a remorseful Kentucky judge was suspended Monday for racially charged comments aimed at a top prosecutor that stemmed from the judge’s frustration over lack of minority representation on a jury panel.

Olu Stevens, a black circuit judge in Louisville, accepted a 90-day suspension without pay in an agreement approved by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

In provocative posts that threatened to end his judicial career, Stevens’ social media barrage came after Wine questioned his authority to scrap a jury panel because it lacked minorities.

During the feud, Stevens had written that Wine’s request that the state Supreme Court review Stevens’ decision to dismiss the jurors amounted to an attempt “to protect the right to impanel all-white juries,” a charge Wine vehemently denied.

The agreement struck with commission attorneys was announced at the start of a hearing that potentially could have ushered Stevens off the bench for good.