Already under fire from a litany of various charges, 42nd Circuit Court Judge Jamie Jameson now finds a seventh count filed against him.
According to a 367-page document of Jameson’s formal proceedings, this newest charge — levied on October 7 — can best be described as “misconduct in office” and “violation” of relevant portions to the Code of Judicial Conduct in the Commonwealth.
Per the allegation, Jameson learned of an Open Records Act request filed to the Administrative Office of the Courts by Murray State University’s NPR affiliate WKMS in early April 2022 — seeking specific security footage of his courtroom, where he reportedly “walked around the courthouse in his underwear.”
Though the request was denied, Jameson supposedly called former WKMS station manager Chad Lampe — notifying him he’d “already spoken” to both Murray State President Bob Jackson and, in lieu, Murray State Provost Tim Todd about the request.
Notes from the proceedings claim Jameson told Lampe “the President was not happy,” and asked Lampe not to run a story about the camera footage involving his possible disrobing while in office.
It is this perceived pressure of “using influence” to instigate reporter silence that forms the base of this charge.
Four original allegations, coming this past April, included serious concerns wrapped around a specific ankle-monitoring program being made available to his defendants, the potential engagement of retaliatory actions involving conduct standards, and the possible pressurization of local and regional attorneys, as well as organizations, to donate into his ongoing re-election campaign — essentially acting as an “alter ego” unable to conduct himself separate of his judicial cloth.
Temporarily suspended following those notations, Jameson was tagged with two other charges by the JCC on October 4 — repeated attempts of obstructing justice by intimidating witnesses and dissuading his judicial staff to comply with subpoenas, and failure to adhere to a temporary suspension from office with engaged patterns of noncompliance by accessing those in his office and his court records.
On that same day, Jameson issued a public Facebook statement asking supporters for prayers. He called the notice “more false allegations” from anonymous sources.
Expecting to appear in court again on October 17, a motion to continue this final hearing has been denied by JCC
In mid-August, Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton appointed Judges David Buckingham and Stephanie Perlow to cover Jameson’s docket until further notice.
A former public defender, Jameson was elected to his seat on November 3, 2015, edging both Jeff Edwards and Randall Hutchens following the retirement of Judge Dennis Foust.
Serving both Calloway and Marshall counties, Jameson is on the ballot next month for another eight-year term and will face opposition from Calvert City’s Andrea Lee Moore.
