Former NKY attorney Ben Dusing is currently serving seven days in the Kenton County jail for contempt of court in a 2019 family case.
Dusing was sentenced in September and a judge ordered him to present himself to the Kenton County Detention Center by Sept. 15. Jail records show he was arrested by the courts on Sept. 14.
Court documents show that Dusing was found in contempt in Oct. 2019 for violating court orders regarding communication between parties. He was sentenced in Jan. 2020 to seven days in jail, conditionally discharged upon compliance with all court orders until the case’s conclusion.
Dusing filed a motion of relief from the contempt order in May 2020, arguing that the contempt was of a criminal nature and, therefore, triggered heightened standards and procedures; however, the court ruled in June 2020 that it was civil because they were trying to get Dusing to comply with court order for the benefit of the other party.
The court also found that the fact that a purge order was entered made it clear that the objective was “compliance, not punishment.” In Aug. 2020, the court found that Dusing violated the Jan. 2020 conditional discharge by continuing to violate the orders from May 2019 by sending emails not related to the matter at hand, according to court documents.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the case was not brought back before the court until a three-day trial began on Aug. 30 with Kenton County Family Court Judge Thomas Rauf.