Bevin "Mass Firing" Stopped By Judge Honey Badger

Greg Stumbo may not be able to stop Governor Lying Coward from destroying the Bluegrass State, but Circuit Court Judge Phillip "Honey Badger" Shepherd is giving it a hell of a try.

Tom Loftus at the Courier:

Saying it appeared to be more of a "mass firing" than a legitimate reorganization, Franklin Circuit Court on Wednesday put a hold on Gov. Matt Bevin's order of last month that abolished and re-created the Kentucky Workers' Compensation Nominating Commission.

The job of the commission is to nominate candidates for appointment by the governor as judges who rule in workers' compensation cases. And on May 9, Bevin issued an executive order that abolished the existing commission (with former Gov. Steve Beshear appointees) and re-established a new commission with his own appointees.

But a 16-page order from Judge Phillip Shepherd on Wednesday suspends Bevin's executive order "pending a final judgment on the merits of this action."

Shepherd's order specifically bans the new appointees named by Bevin from nominating candidates for judgeships, and it prohibits Bevin from appointing any workers' comp judges other than those nominated by the prior commission, until further orders of the court.

The case raises "important issues concerning the scope of a Governor's reorganization power," Shepherd said. And he said the effect of Bevin's order must be held up until "a full and careful judicial review of whether the Governor's action complies with the separation of powers provisions of the Kentucky Constitution and the statutes."

But the judge also expressed strong concerns about Bevin's order.

"It appears from the record before the Court at this time that the primary purpose and effect of the Executive Order is to implement a mass firing of Commissioners, rather than to accomplish a bona fide administrative reorganization," Shepherd wrote.

In the immortal words of our fourth greatest president, "Please proceed, Governor."