LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooks Houck, the man charged with murder in the disappearance of his former girlfriend Crystal Rogers, wants a new judge on his case.
His attorneys claim Nelson County Judge Charles Simms shows bias toward Houck through current and former court proceedings. On Thursday, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurence B. VanMeter weighed in on the request.
According to court documents filed Wednesday, the Chief Justice is remanding the defense attorneys’ request to dismiss Judge Simms, and instead insisting they file a new motion in court asking the judge to take himself off the case.
“Chief Justice finds that Judge Simms should have been afforded an opportunity to grant or deny a motion for recusal," the court document reads.
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The Chief Justice wrote the motion is not required by law, but “parties should present the reasons that recusal is requested and give the judge an opportunity to grant or deny that request.”
If Judge Simms agrees to recuse himself, a substitute judge will be appointed to the case. If Judge Simms decides not to recuse himself, the Chief Justice asks he submit, “countervailing facts or considerations he deems pertinent.”
The Crystal Rogers case is unfolding in Nelson County Circuit Court, where Judge Simms has not been lenient on Houck. He denied a bond reduction request, keeping Houck in jail on a $10 million cash bond.
In a court document filed Tuesday, attorney Brian Butler claimed “Judge Simms’ behavior with regard to Mr. Houck is such that his impartiality might reasonably be questioned from the perspective of a reasonable observer who is informed on all of the surrounding facts and circumstances.”
The attorney included multiple exhibits he suggests show bias toward Houck.
Now, the request to dismiss the judge is back in the hands of the defense attorneys, who must file a motion asking Judge Simms to recuse himself, before the Kentucky Supreme Court will review the request.
Houck is expected back in court in February 2024.
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