Sheila A. Collins
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Sheila A. Collins was a district court judge for the 30th District Court, which presides over Jefferson County in Kentucky.[1] She was first elected to the court in 1998 and was re-elected by voters in 2010 and 2014.[2][3][4] Collins retired from the court in 2016.[5]
Elections
2014
See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
Collins ran for re-election to the 30th District Court.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[4]
2010
- See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2010
Collins was re-elected to the 30th District Court. She defeated challenger Nichole T. Compton with 65.05% of the vote on November 2, 2010.[2][6]
In a statement to the Courier-Journal, she touted her candidacy, saying: "In addition to my compassion, my competence and my commitment to fairness and justice, my experience, knowledge and dedication to the office of District Court Judge make me the most qualified candidate." She also noted that she was rated the most highly qualified candidate in all divisions of the 30th District Court, according to a poll by the Louisville Bar Association.[7]
Noteworthy events
Misconduct allegations (2016)
In January 2016, the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission charged Judge Sheila Collins with judicial misconduct for putting Jasmine Stone, a witness in a domestic violence case, in jail after she recanted her original accusations. Collins allegedly questioned Stone without reading her rights to her and jailed her without holding a hearing or appointing her an attorney. Collins set a $10,000 bail, but another judge released Stone and her charges were later dropped by a third judge. The commission charged Collins with violating Stone's constitutional due process rights.[8]
Collins filed a response to the charges through her lawyer, Stephen Ryan. She admitted that her actions were a mistake and that she should have pursued a contempt case against Stone instead. She denied, however, that she had violated the ethics code. The response said, in part:
| “ | If the witness’s due process rights were violated in this instance, said violation was totally unintentional and without malice. Judge Collins, in good faith, believed that the proper way to handle the witness’s statements about her intentional lies was to have her charged with false swearing. Judge Collins acknowledges that it was her mistake not holding the witness in contempt of court, with [sic] the judge had every right to do.[8][9] | ” |
Collins' misconduct hearing was held on April 19, 2016.[10] During the hearing, Collins said she could have handled the case better, but the situation did not warrant disciplinary action. Jeff Mando, counsel for the commission, argued that the judge's behavior in the Jasmine Stone case could prevent victims of domestic violence from pursuing charges against assailants.[11]
On April 22, 2016, the commission found that Collins had violated two judicial canons and voted that she receive a public reprimand. She could have faced suspension or even removal from the bench.[12] The vote was 4-1 in favor of a public reprimand, with one vote for a private reprimand.[13]
Recent news
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See also
External links
- Kentucky Court of Justice, "District Court Overview"
- Kentucky Court of Justice, "Judicial Directory"
- Official campaign website of Judge Collins
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Kentucky District Court Judges Address List," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Results," October 27, 2011
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Kentucky Constitution, Judicial Department, Section 119," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 Primary Election: District Judge," accessed February 5, 2014
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Seven file for Collins' District Court seat," August 10, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2010 Primary Election Results," July 14, 2010
- ↑ Courier-Journal.com, "Voter Guide: Kentucky District Court Judge District 30, Division 10" (Broken)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 ABA Journal, "Judge faces ethics case after jailing woman who recanted domestic violence claims," February 1, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ WAVE News, "Disciplinary hearing set for judge who jailed woman for recanting story," February 18, 2016
- ↑ WLKY, "Jefferson County judge answers to misconduct charges," April 19, 2016
- ↑ WDRB.com, "Louisville judge to receive public reprimand for misconduct," April 22, 2016
- ↑ Lexington Herald Leader, "Jefferson District Court judge publicly reprimanded," April 23, 2016
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
