Judge Agrees to Suspension Over Racially Charged Comments

Avoiding possible banishment from the bench, a remorseful Kentucky judge was suspended Monday for racially charged comments aimed at a top prosecutor that stemmed from the judge's frustration over lack of minority representation on a jury panel.

Olu Stevens, a black circuit judge in Louisville, accepted a 90-day suspension without pay in an agreement approved by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

A contrite Stevens — once dubbed "Judge Selfie" by a colleague for his prodigious use of social media — acknowledged he violated judicial canons and said his social media onslaught against the prosecutor, Tom Wine, who is white, was wrong.

"I recognize how serious it is to accuse someone, either expressly or implicity, of racism," Stevens said in a statement he read to the commission. "I do not believe Tom Wine is a racist. I apologize for any statements that implied as much."

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