(LEX 18) — A letter with the signature of a circuit court judge is calling for a Kentucky Attorney General investigation of a local commonwealth’s attorney, accusing her of multiple ethics violations.
The two-page letter, which was obtained by LEX 18, includes Circuit Court Judge Brian Privett’s signature and calls for an investigation into prosecutor Sharon Muse, the commonwealth's attorney for Scott, Woodford, and Bourbon counties. The letter accuses Muse and her husband, Rob Johnson, of behavior that is “unprofessional, unethical and possibly criminal.”
LEX 18 made multiple calls to Privett in an effort to confirm the authenticity of the letter, but the calls were not returned.
The letter accuses Muse of filming a pilot for a reality show at her office after her request for permission from the Prosecutor’s Advisory Council was denied.
Among other things, the letter alleges that the reality show centers around Muse’s work as a prosecutor and contains conversations with law enforcement on active cases, and could jeopardize cases.
A Kentucky Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman told LEX 18 the office could neither confirm nor deny the matter is currently under investigation.
The letter also accuses Muse of other ethical concerns, including an allegation she provides information on a book that she authored, along with information on how to buy it, to crime victims she serves. Muse’s book, Kidnapped by a Client: An Attorney’s Fight For Justice, details an attack on her by a client and the court case that followed.
Muse issued the following statement in response to the allegations in the letter:
"Upon review of the letter to the Attorney General by outgoing Judge Privett all allegations of illegal and/ or unethical conduct contained in the letter are either blatantly false or grossly misleading. No further comments at this time."
Johnson, who works as an assistant prosecutor in Muse’s office, is running for judge in the same circuit Muse prosecutes in, which has raised its own set of ethical concerns. When LEX 18 asked her about those concerns, Muse cited a 1980 Judicial Ethics Opinion she said supported her stance and told us Johnson would only preside over civil cases while the other circuit judge would handle all the criminal cases.
In the judge’s letter to the attorney general’s office, Muse is accused of campaigning for her husband’s judicial run during Grand Jury sessions.
