On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of Kentucky suspended attorney Benjamin Gerald Dusing from practicing law for three years. The court found Dusing guilty of multiple violations of Kentucky rules of professional conduct stemming from his actions in two family court cases involving child custody disputes.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Benjamin Gerald Dusing,” with case no. 2023-SC-0483-KB.
Dusing has been licensed to practice law in Kentucky since 2002. Over the past several years, he became embroiled in bitter divorce and custody proceedings in Kenton Family Court involving his ex-wife Julie Tapke and another woman, Jill Bakker, with whom he had a child. The cases, referred to as the Tapke and Bakker litigations, were overseen by now-retired Family Court Judge Christopher Mehling.
During the proceedings, Dusing filed numerous frivolous motions and appeals. He threatened disciplinary complaints against Judge Mehling and opposing counsel solely to gain an advantage. Most troubling, the Supreme Court found Dusing orchestrated an attempt to bribe a child custody evaluator, Dr. Ed Connor, by offering him $5,000 through Dusing’s attorney to change his evaluation report.
The disputes culminated on November 2, 2021, when Dusing posted a disturbing and threatening video on Facebook targeting Judge Mehling’s staff attorney and Bakker’s lawyer. In foul language, Dusing warned “If I see it one more f***ing time, that the restraint that I feel I have shown to both of you, that the ample opportunities I’ve given both of you to f***ing just knock it the fuck off and stop doing petty corruption like this, and it’s not that petty.” He threatened to “bring the f***ing wrath of motherf***ing God down on both of you guys” if his demands were not met.
Judge Mehling, who had denied seven previous recusal motions by Dusing, felt he now had no choice but to recuse himself from both family court cases due to the appearance of bias, ruling that Dusing’s direct threat to his staff attorney damaged the court’s impartiality. Dusing’s video prompted the Kentucky Bar Association to open investigations that culminated in the Supreme Court disciplinary action.
The KBA charged Dusing with three sets of rule violations for his conduct. Regarding the Bakker case, the charges included filing frivolous appeals to disrupt proceedings, threatening disciplinary complaints to obtain an advantage, and orchestrating the bribery attempt of the custody evaluator. For the Tapke case, Dusing was accused of more frivolous filings and disrupting the trial through repeated emails to the guardian ad litem. Finally, the KBA said posting the threatening video violated professional conduct rules.
At a three-day hearing, the trial commissioner found Dusing guilty on all charges and recommended a three-year suspension without credit for time served during his temporary suspension. On appeal, the Board of Governors and now the Supreme Court agreed with this outcome. In its opinion, the high court said Dusing’s “litigation tactics exceeded reasonable advocacy and were solely calculated to disrupt” the family court proceedings.
The court was also unconvinced by Dusing’s arguments that he did not intend his statements in the video as physical threats, calling his explanations a “complete lack of self-awareness.” Moving forward, Dusing will be prohibited from practicing law for three years, effective immediately, as the Supreme Court acts to protect the integrity of the judicial system and profession in Kentucky.
The Disposition states:
“For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby ORDERED that: Respondent, Benjamin Gerald Dusing, KBA No. 89178, is suspended from the practice of law for a period of three years from the date of this Order. Dusing shall not receive credit for the time temporarily suspended by this Court on February 24, 2022.”
According to kybar.org, Mr. Dusing acquired his law license in Kentucky in 2002.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
