Kentucky Appeals Court Overturns Family Court Judge's Decision to Take a Child from His Father Without Giving the Father Proper Notice or Hearing

The original story is by Christine Miller and Susan Bassi.

A father in Kentucky has won a significant case in the state Court of Appeals after a family court judge made a serious mistake in a custody battle. This situation has gained a lot of attention on social media and raised concerns about how family courts function in America and the rights of parents.

The issue involves Judge Lauren Ogden from Jefferson Circuit Court, who was told by the Kentucky Court of Appeals to stop her actions in the custody case between Anthony John De Almeida and Destiny Smith. The court found that Judge Ogden had taken away De Almeida's custody rights without giving him proper notice or allowing him to be present during the hearing.

The custody issues began in August 2024 when both parents agreed that De Almeida should have sole custody of their newborn child. Smith agreed not to seek visitation rights. However, on October 7, 2024, Smith and the child's grandmother went to court without De Almeida. Even though his lawyer was on the phone and couldn't hear or challenge the testimony, Judge Ogden continued with the case, leading to the appellate court stepping in to prevent harm to De Almeida.

On October 8, Judge Ogden canceled the custody agreement, claiming it was signed by mistake, even though she had previously accepted it. She ordered De Almeida to return the child to Kentucky, which he did. Later, on October 14, without listening to De Almeida or his witnesses, Judge Ogden took the child from him and gave custody back to Smith, even though no formal request was made by Smith.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals criticized these actions, stating that custody changes cannot happen without proper notice or a hearing. They restored De Almeida's full custody rights and described the previous judge's behavior as a serious miscarriage of justice.

In their order, the appellate court instructed that the child should be returned to De Almeida by November 6. Despite this, the child was not returned on time. The paternal grandmother reportedly tricked De Almeida into going to a different courthouse for last-minute legal issues, which were denied. Finally, the child was handed over under sheriff's supervision, but questions arose about the mother's custody right after this exchange. The grandmother had no legal standing in the case.

The situation went quiet until April 2025 when Smith's legal team tried to change the original custody decision, claiming fraud. De Almeida's lawyer responded by asking Judge Ogden to step down from the case due to possible bias, as her divorce lawyer now represents Smith. The details about that representation are unclear because Judge Ogden's case is sealed.

The case has received a lot of attention, with courtroom videos getting over a million views on TikTok and many comments about judicial behavior. De Almeida's lawyer included some of these comments in the request for Judge Ogden to recuse herself.

As of April 25, 2025, Judge Ogden plans to deny this request. A hearing to contest this decision is set for April 28, 2025, in Jefferson County, which the public can watch via Zoom.

This case highlights how important it is for family courts to ensure fairness and transparency, raising serious questions about the impartiality of judges and the protections needed for parents and children.