Embattled Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling could be adding an impeachment to the list of issues he’s facing after a resolution was filed by the Kentucky House of Representatives Wednesday to begin impeachment proceedings.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported the resolution was filed by Louisville Republican Jason Nemes, who also filed a similar resolution against 21st District Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Goldy Jr. who is accused of promising to do favors for a female defendant in exchange for nude images of her.
State law says if articles of impeachment are taken up by the house that leads to impeachment, Boling would then be tried in the Senate, where a conviction requires the vote of at least two-thirds of the senators present.
State law says any civil offer can be impeached for “any misdemeanors in office.” The Courier-Journal said only eight Kentucky officials have been impeached by the House in state history. Only three were convicted by the Senate.
Last month, a Kentucky Supreme Court trial commissioner recommended to the Kentucky Bar Association that Boling be suspended from practicing law for five years following several months of testimony.
The report came after the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a show-cause order in May to determine if Boling should be suspended because of previous instances of alleged professional misconduct and a delay in negotiating an agreed sanction on the previous two incidents.
The Inquiry Commission issued a complaint against Boling in February 2020 concerning a letter Boling wrote on Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney letterhead to then-Governor Matt Bevin concerning a pardon request for Dayton Jones, who was convicted of sexual assault. The Inquiry Commission said Boling’s letter contended “Jones’ biggest problem is that the Democratic Party controlled then-prosecutor Lynn Pryor, the judge in the case John Atkins, and Jones’ defense counsel. Boling offered no evidence to those claims. Bevin commuted Jones’ sentence and the order said Boling’s letter received extensive media attention.
After the letter was made public, Boling said he reached an informal agreement with Judge Self and Judge Atkins to not appear in the courthouse for a period of time.
Six months later, the Inquiry Commission initiated a second complaint against Boling regarding Karen Brafman who was charged with two counts of arson and six counts of attempted murder. The Supreme Court reversed a circuit court jury’s conviction in December 2020 due to Boling’s misconduct. The reversal order said Boling was personally aware of evidence that Brafman was intoxicated and argued to the court that evidence of her intoxication did not exist.
Last August, the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys Association voted last week to expel Boling from its membership. The vote removed Boling from membership in the Association and bars him from attending future Association functions and conferences.
