The Kentucky Bar Association recommended former Northern Kentucky defense attorney Ben Dusing receive a three-year suspension from practicing law, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Dusing previously represented former Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Pastor and lost a campaign for Kenton County Family Court judge last year.
The Kentucky Supreme Court temporarily suspended Dusing in February 2022 after he allegedly threatened violence against attorneys and court staff in an expletive-laden video on his public Facebook page, which has since been taken down.
Following the Supreme Court’s initial suspension, Dusing was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation. The court also induced the Kentucky Inquiry Commission, the arm of the Kentucky Bar Association responsible for investigating complaints against lawyers, to begin disciplinary investigations against Dusing. Altogether, Dusing’s initial suspension combined with the three-year suspension issued this month brings the attorney’s total suspension time to five years.
The suspension came as the result of actions Dusing took in family court proceedings between 2019 and 2021 over the custody of his children, according to court documents. The Kentucky Bar Association alleges that Dusing committed ethical infractions that would disqualify him from practicing law in the commonwealth.
Judge Christopher Mehling of the Kenton County Circuit Court presided over Dusing’s family court cases. During the course of the proceedings, Dusing repeatedly cast doubt on Mehling’s integrity as well as the integrity of his staff, filing frequent motions to either recuse or otherwise disqualify Mehling, records say. The bar association reported that it found many of these motions frivolous and disruptive. At one point, Dusing even threatened Mehling with criminal charges, which the bar association also cited as inappropriate.
What’s more, during the course of fact-finding in March 2021, “the Court made findings regarding occasions on which Dusing attempted to intimidate [his former wife] and on at least six occasions threatened to kill her,” court documents read.
The fact finding also cited the testimony of a Dr. Ed Conner, who gave a report as a custody expert. Conner alleged that one of Dusing’s representing attorneys — Dusing went through several attorneys throughout the proceedings and also represented himself on several occasions — Jeff Otis “appeared at his office and offered him $5,000” if he changed his custodial evaluation. Dusing later denied he ever asked anyone to bribe Conner.
Finally, in a Facebook video posted on Nov. 2, 2021, Dusing allegedly threatened violence against court staff member Alice Keys and his former wife’s attorney Stephanie Dietz, whom Dusing believed had been receiving undue preferential treatment from the court.
The video is no longer online, but court documents include a transcript of the video, in which Dusing was seated at a desk wearing sunglasses and directly addresses Keys and Dietz.
Dusing spewed profanity and aspersions onto the family court, which he described as “corrupt,” and tells the women to “give me a f*****g reason to f*****g blow your a***s up.”
This comment was preceded by a baiting invitation to “please sue my a**.”
Judge Mehling held a hearing only a few hours after the video was posted, during which he played the video in its entirety. Two days later, Mehling recused himself from court.
“It was inappropriate and improper for anyone, let alone a member of the Kentucky Bar to post such a video about a court proceeding in which he is involved,” Mehling said in his recusal statement. “It clearly was meant to intimidate this court and this court’s staff and the attorneys involved in this case.”
The judge also stated that his staff attorney was present in the court when he played the video and that she was “physically upset during and after the playing of the video. She became fearful for her life.”
Dusing later expressed regret at his language but not necessarily the spirit of the video.
“He did not apologize for the post in its entirety,” documents read, “but actually tried to defend it, stating that it was part of his advocacy to reform the court.”
LINK nky reached out to Dusing for comment, who replied saying that he was working in Kherson, Ukraine, before referring his current lawyer Kent Wicker, whose office is in Louisville.
Wicker stated that Dusing “is a good lawyer and should be back practicing law.”
He added that the trail commissioner responsible for adjudicating Dusing’s disciplinary investigation had misunderstood the facts and misapplied the law.
In his response to LINK nky, Dusing said, “Tragic that I’m a story, and the people of Kherson aren’t. Let me know if someone wants to do a story on them.”