# Judge in Bevin divorce case can stay, Kentucky Supreme Court rules  
**Published:** 2026-05-07T22:54:29.000Z  
**Source:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/07/judge-in-bevin-divorce-case-can-stay-kentucky-supreme-court-rules/)  
**Republished from:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/07/judge-in-bevin-divorce-case-can-stay-kentucky-supreme-court-rules/) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)  
**Canonical:** https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/07/judge-in-bevin-divorce-case-can-stay-kentucky-supreme-court-rules/

By Deborah Yetter, [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com) · May 7, 2026

![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image1-9-1024x858.jpeg) (Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson wrote that she would be "improperly avoiding her duty" by granting the Bevins' request that she recuse herself from the case involving their adopted son. The Kentucky Supreme Court declined to remove her from the case. (Pool photo by Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal, March 20, 2026))

The state’s top court has refused to replace the judge in the contentious divorce of former Gov. Matt Bevin and his ex-wife Glenna, in which their estranged, adopted son, Jonah, is seeking support.

The Bevins, whose divorce became final last year, had [asked](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/judge-respectfully-declines-to-step-down-from-ex-gov-matt-bevins-divorce-case/) the high court to remove Jefferson Family Court Judge Johnson Angela Johnson, claiming she was biased in the case pending over their final settlement and Jonah’s effort to get financial and educational assistance.

The order issued Thursday by Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert, said the Bevins’ demands for a new judge failed to show Johnson was biased toward them or seeking media attention, as they had alleged.

Lambert’s 18-page order, in analyzing the case found Johnson had articulated “reasonable bases for her rulings.”

As for media attention garnered by the high-profile case, Lambert said that isn’t grounds for disqualifying a judge.

“If judges must tailor their rulings around whether they will garner media attention, rather than on application of law to the facts, justice will never prevail,” her order said. “The high-profile nature of this case is such that any judge could face scrutiny for his or her decisions.”

Jonah Bevin’s lawyers, John H. Helmers and Melina Hettiaratchi, said in a statement they welcomed the decision following the Bevins’ demand for a new judge that stalled proceedings in the case including potential contempt of court sanctions against Matt Bevin.

“We are pleased with the decision by the chief justice this afternoon,” the statement said. “This confirms that Jonah is entitled to his day in court, regardless of his parents’ whims or wishes. Further, it reaffirms that Matt and Glenna Bevin will not be entitled to special treatment based on privilege or influence.”

Neither Glenna Bevin’s lawyer, Jason Bowman, nor Matt Bevins’s lawyer, Jesse Mudd, was immediately available for comment.

It is the latest development in the year-long court battle in which Jonah, [has intervened](https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/judge-denies-former-ky-gov-matt-bevins-request-to-bar-adopted-son-from-divorce-case/) in his parents’ divorce case, seeking support and aid in completing an education. The Bevins have fought Jonah’s effort to intervene, including unsuccessful appeals to the state Court of Appeals.

![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bevin207-300x213.jpg) (Jonah Bevin, right, and one of his lawyers, Melina Hettiaratchi, listen during a court hearing in Louisville, March 25, 2025. (Photo by Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal, via press pool))

Jonah, now 19, alleged the Bevins [abandoned him](https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/02/28/i-dont-have-anybody-adoptive-teen-son-of-a-ky-governor-talks-about-life-on-his-own/) at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica that was closed by authorities, leaving him to make his way back to the United States with the aid of child advocates. He was one of four children the Bevins, who have nine children altogether, adopted in 2012 from Ethiopia.

The Bevins’ divorce became final last year but the court battle continues over a potential settlement and Jonah’s efforts to gain support.

The Supreme Court decision comes after Johnson on April 16 [declined](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/judge-respectfully-declines-to-step-down-from-ex-gov-matt-bevins-divorce-case/) in a written order to remove herself from the high-profile case in which the Bevins also alleged she is seeking media attention in addition to bias.

“Judge Johnson has consistently demonstrated her bias and prejudice toward me in this action in addition to a repeated disregard for the truth and the established laws of Kentucky,” Matt Bevin said in an affidavit. Bevin had claimed he was singled out because of his status as a former governor and said the judge was treating him as a “political pinata.”

Johnson, in her response, disagreed.

“This court holds no personal bias or prejudice against or in favor of any party or attorney involved,” Johnson’s April 16 order said. “This court has provided fair and impartial rulings thus far and will continue to do so . . .”

The Bevins had asked  Lambert  to remove Johnson from the case.

But Lambert, before deciding on that request, sent the matter back to Johnson to first rule on whether the judge wished to recuse herself. Lambert, in an April 10 order, said Johnson should have the opportunity to rule on the matter before the Supreme Court stepped in.

Johnson, in a 15-page order, said she [“respectfully declines”](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/judge-respectfully-declines-to-step-down-from-ex-gov-matt-bevins-divorce-case/) the Bevins’ request to disqualify herself as a judge, writing that while the Bevins have “offered a great deal of speculation as to this court’s motivations,” they failed to show she has acted unfairly.

“By disqualifying herself when no grounds to do so apply, this court would be improperly avoiding her duty to render a decision in a matter assigned to her,” Johnson’s order said.

Matt Bevin in March [asked](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/03/26/former-ky-governor-delays-child-support-hearing-by-asking-supreme-court-to-remove-judge/) the Supreme Court to remove the judge from the case. Glenna Bevin later joined his request.

Johnson, in the April 16 order, disputed several of the Bevins’ claims to the Supreme Court alleging bias.

That includes their claims she has “pre-judged” issues in the case including whether Jonah received an adequate education and is unprepared to support himself. Jonah’s lawyers have alleged his high school diploma is a “sham” from an unaccredited online program.

Matt Bevin has argued Jonah received a valid diploma and told the court in April 2025 he would provide proof Jonah graduated from an accredited school, Johnson’s order said. But documentation he later provided under seal showed the school “was not accredited by any recognized agency,” it said.

“The court has not committed itself to ruling either way on Jonah’s education,” her order said. It added that the Bevins have been given an opportunity to provide proof of the adequacy of Jonah’s education “and failed to do so.”

Johnson  also addressed Matt Bevin’s allegations the judge is trying to “smear” him and his ex-wife, in part because of Bevin’s status as a former governor, accusing her of seeking media attention to aid in her re-election as a circuit judge.

For example, he said the judge in a written order said the Bevins “have consistently sought to conceal any evidence of their finances” from family court. Bevin argued this is untrue and the couple’s main interest has been to protect the family’s privacy and avoid public disclosure, given the “historical ulterior motives and ill intent of the media.”

![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bevin217-300x204.jpg) (Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin appears in Jefferson Family Court with attorney Zach Buckler for a hearing at which a judge approved a protective order sought by Bevin’s adoptive son, March 25, 2025. (Photo by Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal, via press pool))

Glenna Bevin also has alleged that “extraordinary media attention” has influenced the judge.

Johnson said in her order that she has treated Matt Bevin any other like any other litigant.”

Information about the couple’s finances is essential in deciding whether to order support for Jonah, she said.

And she said she’s had no role in the media attention the three-year old case has attracted since Glenna Bevin filed for divorce in 2023.

“Neither this court nor any of her staff have engaged with the media,” her order said. “This court has no control over how much media attention this matter receives.”

Johnson also rejected claims from the Bevins she wrongly claimed they acted in “bad faith” by resisting efforts to disclose details of their finances, which could factor in any decision on possible child support

The couple delayed providing the information and when they did so, it was heavily redacted, Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Jonah remains frustrated with delays in the case, his lawyers said. He remains living with acquaintances out of state, with only temporary work and close to homelessness, his lawyers said.

Johnson, in a previous written order, said she believed Matt Bevin’s intention was to “delay and frustrate” a March 27 hearing on whether Jonah was entitled to support and educational assistance.”

Matt Bevin’s request for the Supreme Court to remove Johnson  did [delay the hearing](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/03/26/former-ky-governor-delays-child-support-hearing-by-asking-supreme-court-to-remove-judge/) and also helped him avoid possible arrest for contempt of court.

The request temporarily blocked enforcement of Johnson’s [March 24 order](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/03/24/judge-sentences-former-ky-gov-bevin-to-jail-that-he-can-avoid-by-disclosing-financial-info/) sentencing him to 60 days in jail for contempt of court for failing to provide detailed financial information to the court. An arrest warrant issued by Johnson said he could avoid jail by posting a $500 bond and providing information she said was needed in deciding whether support for Jonah was warranted.

Acting on a motion filed by Matt Bevin, Appeals Court Judge Audra Eckerle [ruled](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/03/27/former-kentucky-gov-matt-bevins-arrest-warrant-lifted-by-appeals-judge/) that, under Kentucky law, “the trial judge is without further jurisdiction” until the chief justice of the Supreme Court rules on whether to remove and replace the judge.

Glenna Bevin was not subject to the contempt finding after Jonah’s lawyers said she had provided them with sufficient financial information.

The Bevins have argued Kentucky law does not permit children to intervene in a divorce case or seek child support.

Jonah’s lawyers said Thursday they will ask Johnson to schedule a hearing as soon as possible to renew action in the case.

## Sources

- [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/07/judge-in-bevin-divorce-case-can-stay-kentucky-supreme-court-rules/)