Former Kentucky circuit court judge disbarred for misconduct

### October 31, 2011

FRANKFORT, Kentucky: The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled to permanently disbar former judge Joseph "Jay" Bamberger due to ethics violations including "sanctioning the largest scale fraud in the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”[1] In a 2001 case regarding the diet drug phen-fen, Bamberger approved a $200 million pay-out that gave two-thirds of the money to lawyers and consultants, including one of Bamberger's close friends.[2] Without requesting any documentation, Bamberger approved fees of $98 million to a trio of lawyers whose contracts would have given them $60 million.[1] Bamberger is the 5th lawyer to be disbarred for his conduct in the case. Bamberger resigned in 2006 rather than face removal by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. Admitted to the bar in 1970, Bamberger had served as a judge in Kentucky's 54th Circuit.

## Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Courier-Journal, "Former judge of the year disbarred over fen-phen scandal," October 27, 2011
2. ↑ WLWT Cincinnati, "Ky. Court Disbars Former Judge Over Diet Drug Settlement," October 27, 2011 (dead link)

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