Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson has been found in contempt of court for denying claims for payment submitted by Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr.,
Special Judge Gary Arnold ordered Robinson to pay the attorney fees for Woods’ lawyer, Adam Butler, saying during a hearing Friday he “didn’t think any other sanction would be appropriate.” Arnold, a retired judge from Saline County, was hearing the case after all the judges in Jefferson County recused themselves, citing the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Butler said he hoped the message got through to Robinson and that he would process claims for the sheriff’s office the same way he did with other county offices.
After a hearing in 2023, Arnold ruled that Robinson denied 93 out of more than 2,000 budget claims from Woods’ office since June 2022 and Woods claimed the delay in payments had a negative impact on vendors who provided services to his office.
Robinson said he disagreed with the ruling and said he felt this was strictly a political matter on the part of Woods to try and discredit him.
His attorney also said they were considering appealing the ruling.
In their testimony, Robinson and his chief of staff Rosetta Giddens claimed Woods and his staff failed to take the proper procedures for submitting claims for payment, giving the wrong address or wrong county account..
