Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s arrest warrant lifted by appeals judge

LOUISVILLE — A warrant for the arrest of former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has been lifted for now through an emergency order by the state Court of Appeals.

The order comes three days after Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson sentenced Bevin to 60 days in jail for contempt of court after she said he failed to produce financial records as part of a year-long legal dispute with his estranged son, Jonah Bevin.

Appeals Judge Audra Eckerle, acting on a petition filed late Thursday by Matt Bevin, ordered the arrest warrant set aside for now, finding Johnson had issued an order to sentence Bevin after he filed a motion asking the state Supreme Court to remove her from his case for alleged bias.

Eckerle’s order said Kentucky law says that after the filing of such a claim, “the trial judge is without further jurisdiction” until the chief justice of the Supreme Court rules on whether to remove and replace the judge.

Eckerle’s order said the matter has been assigned to an appeals court panel to rule on the merits of Bevin’s claim.

In his emergency motion to the appeals court, Bevin describes the judge’s decision to sentence him to jail as “a desperate attempt to retain power over the pending case so she could issue an order of arrest against Matt and receive the resulting media exposure.”

It added: “Enforcement of such an order would cause irreparable injury to Matt which would be so ruinous in nature that it cannot be allowed to proceed.”

John H. Helmers Jr., a lawyer representing Jonah, noted the appeals court ruling is not final.

“We consider this a temporary reprieve for Matt Bevin,” Helmers said. “Ultimately, he will need to comply with the family court’s orders and produce the mandatory documents. For now, we will continue to focus on representing Jonah Bevin and ensuring his access to the courts.

Matt Bevin’s lawyer, Jesse Mudd, released a statement Friday in support of the appeals court decision and saying he and his client look forward to a decision from the Supreme Court on Bevin’s request to have the judge removed from the family court case.

“We are grateful for the swift action taken by the Kentucky Court of Appeals to uphold longstanding Kentucky law and correct Judge Angela Johnson’s blatant disregard for that law,” it said. “This ruling makes clear that no judge is above the law.”

Johnson is presiding over the divorce case of Matt Bevin and  his ex-wife, Glenna, in which Jonah has intervened, seeking support after he said his parents abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica.

Now 19, Jonah is one of four children the Bevins adopted from Ethiopia in 2012.

An arrest warrant Johnson signed March 24 calls for Bevin to serve 60 days in jail or pay a $500 cash bond and produce all records sought by the court.

It appeared that as of Friday morning the warrant was still outstanding. It’s unclear if Bevin, who had been traveling out of state and attended this week’s court hearing by Zoom, has returned to Kentucky.

But the appeals court ruling vacates the arrest warrant.

The appeals decision adds a new complication to the case. A hearing on whether Jonah is entitled to child support and help obtaining an education scheduled for March 27 already was delayed after Bevin filed his motion seeking to have the judge removed from his case.

Jonah, in a statement about Friday’s delay, said it was discouraging. He said he is living on his own with acquaintances in Utah with no support from the Bevins.

“Every day I wake up worried about where I’m going to sleep and how I’m going to eat,” he said. “I’m trying my best, but I feel like I’m on my own.”