Judge in Hunter Biden paternity case recuses
At left, Hunter Biden is shown in a 2012 file photo. At right, a screenshot of a judge's order recusing from an ongoing paternity case involving Biden.
The judge in Hunter Biden’s Arkansas paternity case has recused.
Independence County Circuit Judge Don McSpadden filed an order at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday saying he was recusing “pursuant to the Administrative Plan of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.”
A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday. Attorneys for Lunden Alexis Roberts had urged the judge to find Biden in contempt of court at that hearing for not providing financial information for the past five years.
"One of the clearest indicators of a judge’s integrity is when he or she recuses from a case,” said Clinton Lancaster, one of Roberts’ attorneys. "It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter."
Roberts filed the paternity suit in May, claiming that she and Hunter Biden were in a relationship that resulted in the birth of “Baby Doe” in August 2018.
Roberts, a graduate of Arkansas State University, has asked the court to establish that Biden is the child’s biological father and order him to pay child support and provide the baby’s health insurance.
On Nov. 20, Lancaster filed a motion with the court that DNA testing had established, “with scientific certainty,” that Hunter Biden was the baby’s father.
A separate motion filed with the clerk said Hunter Biden “is not contesting paternity.”
Biden’s attorney told the court last month that he is unemployed and has been without monthly income since May.