Kentucky judge resigns following controversy over his refusal to handle same-sex adoption cases

A Kentucky judge has resigned after a state panel filed ethics charges against him over his refusal to handle adoption cases involving gay parents.

Judge W. Mitchell Nance has been accused of violating ethics rules and committing misconduct in his office after he issued an order in April requiring lawyers to inform him if they had an adoption case involving a gay parent or same-sex couple so that he could recuse himself.

He said that his religious convictions prevented him from handling such cases because he believes adoption of a child by a "practicing homosexual" would never be in the child's best interest.

The Kentucky commission documents that were filed on Wednesday noted that Nance could not grant adoptions to same-sex couples because of his belief that "the divinely created order of nature is that each human being has a male parent and a female parent."

In response to the charges, Nance, who serves as a family court judge for Barren and Metcalfe counties, submitted his resignation effective Dec. 16.

The Kentucky-based Fairness Campaign, one of the parties that filed the complaint against Nance with the judicial commission, welcomed the news of his resignation.

The group, which focuses on preventing discrimination against LGBT people, said that the judge had proven that he could not be impartial when it came to LGBTQ people and their families.

"I hope this sends a message to judges across the country that if their conscience conflicts with their duty, they must leave the bench," the group's director Chris Hartman said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The commission contended that Nance's order violated a number of ethics provision, which includes the requirement on judges to uphold high standards of conduct, comply with the law and act in ways that promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

Judges are prohibited from showing bias or prejudice on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.

It further noted that the judge put his recusal rule in place without permission from the state's chief justice.

The charges against Nance could have resulted in sanctions, ranging from admonishment to removal from office, according to Lexington Herald Leader.

Nance's attorneys, Bryan H. Beauman and Scott L. Miller of Lexington, have asked the commission to dismiss the case following his resignation. They defended their client, saying the judge was trying to do the right thing by recusing himself.

They said that Nance's decision to recuse himself from adoption cases involving gay parents would have led to impartial decisions and made sure that all families had a fair opportunity for adoption.

Hartman said that he hoped the Judicial Conduct Commission will continue to pursue the case despite Nance's resignation.

"It's unfortunate that he has not acknowledged the basic discriminatory nature of his actions," he said.