Jefferson Family Court judge to be suspended for 30 days

Louisville Family Court Judge Lauren Adams Ogden will be suspended for 30 days after the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission found she violated multiple rules of judicial conduct. 

According to the agreed-upon order, released publicly Monday, Ogden will be suspended from the bench for 30 unpaid days beginning at midnight Nov. 8 through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 8. 

The commission, which can discipline judges in order to “promote public confidence in the integrity, independence, competence and impartiality of the judiciary,” found Ogden had acted in ways that undermined the public’s faith in the court, including “rolling her eyes and smirking while hearing testimony,” speaking in a “sarcastic tone” and speaking over counsel, among other issues. 

Other findings in the order include allegations that Ogden: 

• “Conducted a hearing with her judicial robe unzipped revealing a shirt covered with a design of two champagne glasses.” 
• “Blatantly violated a parent’s due process rights — without any consideration of or reference to the relevant law” by removing a child from a mother’s custody without notice to the mother. 
• Ordered a father’s “unsupervised parenting time with his three children be suspended, without making sufficient findings of endangerment.”
• “Ate food and texted during the proceedings” in one case. 

Ogden “has acknowledged the concerns raised in these proceedings and has accepted responsibility for the administration of her courtroom and docket,” the commission’s order stated. 

“She has implemented changes intended to ensure that all parties, including those appearing without counsel, have a full opportunity to be heard, that the record reflects the basis for the Court’s decisions, and that rulings of the Court of Appeals are implemented promptly and completely,” according to the Monday order. 

During her suspension, she cannot appear at the Jefferson County Judicial Center. Within six months she must pay out of pocket for an educational course about “proper conduct of hearings and due process.” 

The last time the commission entered a suspension order for a sitting judge was in April 2025, according to records posted to its website. 

Ogden is the chair of the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel, which reviews the worst cases of abuse and neglect — those that result in death or near death — and makes recommendations for policy changes.