The Kentucky Supreme Court has suspended Northern Kentucky attorney Ben Dusing from the practice of law for three years.
Dusing previously represented former Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor and lost a campaign for Kenton County Family Court Judge in 2022. He has been temporarily suspended in both Ohio and Kentucky since then.
The Kentucky Bar Association made the recommendation that the court enact a three-year suspension in 2023, but the suspension begins Sept. 26, 2024, the date of the decision.
The suspension stems from 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.
“On November 2, 2021, Dusing posted a video to Facebook that he acknowledges was ‘crass,’ ‘offensive,’ ‘imprudent,’ and ‘undoubtedly a mistake of judgment,'” The Sept. 26 ruling reads.
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**.”
Dusing has been back and forth from Ukraine since his temporary suspension.
“While commendable, although not particularly relevant, Dusing points out to us that he has engaged in some humanitarian work with the citizens of the Ukraine,” the decision reads.
Read the full decision below.