(LEX 18) — Kentucky’s Judicial Conduct Commission added two new charges of official misconduct against a circuit court justice.
In a filing signed Monday by commission chairman Stephen D. Wolnitzek, the commission accused 21st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Beth Lewis Maze of forging names on officials documents and failing to acknowledge having done so during the investigation.
These join two previous charges that all stem from accusations that Lewis Maze ordered her ex-husband, former Bath County attorney Donald “Champ” Maze, to be drug tested even though she wasn’t assigned to his district court case.
Lewis Maze represents Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties.
Lewis Maze previously told LEX 18’s Leigh Searcy that no other judges were available and that she would have done signed it for anyone.
For the new charges, the commission says Lewis Maze “wrote ‘Bath Co. Attorney’ on the ‘Attorney for the Plaintiff’ signature line … [and] ‘Commonwealth Att. & Bath Co. Attorney’ on the ‘Attorney for the Plaintiff’ signature line. … You additionally signed Michael Campbell’s name on the ‘Attorney for Defendant’ signature line.”
The commission added a charge based on Lewis Maze’s alleged failure to mention having signed the documents in such a manner.
Lewis Maze has 15 days to respond to the new charges.
