ANDERSON — Judge Fredrick Spencer of Madison Circuit Court is under investigation by the state Judicial Qualification Commission for alleged ethical violations.

The allegations include initiating ex parte communications concerning matters pending in Spencer’s court, deciding issues prematurely and on the basis of improper considerations and attempting to deprive a person of her constitutional right to appeal and her statutory right to seek modification of her sentence, according to a letter sent by Anderson attorney Jeff Lockwood to the JQC last August.

(Ex parte is a Latin phrase meaning by or for one party. An ex parte judicial proceeding is conducted for the benefit of only one party.)

On Monday, attorney Bryan Williams, who served with Lockwood as defense attorneys during the case noted in the allegations, was notified by the JQC that the commission would be investigating Spencer. Lockwood said Spencer will have to defend himself against the allegations.

“These proceedings are supposed to be confidential,” said Spencer, when questioned by The Herald Bulletin. “(The JQC) wrote me a letter and I responded.”

The judge said he had nothing further to say.

“I’m not required to respond to specious allegations made in public.”

On Wednesday, Lockwood prepared an application for change of judge for his client Ronald Terhune, who is facing charges of child molest, according to Lockwood.

The application, filed in Madison Circuit Court, noted the complaint Lockwood made against Spencer and said, “I believe that Judge Spencer is biased against my attorney and do not believe that I can receive fair and impartial treatment in my case.”

Lockwood said if he were a judge it would be hard to be fair to an attorney who made such a complaint, hence the reason his client filed for a change of court.

The allegations against Spencer stem from the murder trial of Kathy Jo Ward in 2007 in which Lockwood and Williams served as defense attorneys. After the jury found Ward guilty of voluntary manslaughter on June 29, 2007, in the death of her husband, John Ward, “Spencer engaged Mr. Williams in an ex parte conversation (on July 1) declaring he had already decided what Ms. Ward’s sentence would be,” according to the letter.

Spencer said that because Kathy Jo Ward was white and John Ward was black “he intended to impose the advisory sentence of 30 years so that the decedent’s family members from Chicago would not be upset with the leniency of the sentence,” stated the letter.

Further, Spencer told Williams he would modify Kathy Jo Ward’s sentence to the minimum 20 years provided she waive her right to appeal the advisory sentence.

According to the letter, Williams reported the conversation to Lockwood and together they notified Deputy Prosecutor Pat Ragains, who handled the Ward case.

“Judges don’t prejudge things,” said Lockwood.

Lockwood also said that having Ward waive her right to appeal “puts her lawyer in a heck of a spot. How do you go to your client and say you don’t have your constitutional right to an appeal?”

Before the Aug. 15 sentencing hearing, Lockwood, Williams and Ragains met in Spencer’s office, according to the letter. Lockwood told Spencer that the defense didn’t think the “imagined reaction of the victim’s family was a proper sentencing consideration.” Further, they told Spencer they couldn’t advise their client to give up her appeal.

Spencer sentenced Ward to 30 years. Her appeal was denied by the Indiana Court of Appeals, according to Lockwood’s letter.

The defense attorneys filed a petition to modify Ward’s sentence. But, in another ex parte communication during the week of Aug. 18, Spencer told Ragains that Spencer had already decided not to modify Ward’s sentence, stated Lockwood in his letter.

Williams, Lockwood and Ragains were again in Spencer’s office on Aug. 21, and Lockwood told the judge that he had heard Spencer had already made a decision concerning the Ward modification issue, according to Lockwood’s letter. Spencer, Lockwood wrote, said he would not modify Ward’s sentence because “(defense counsel) had toyed with him by allowing Ms. Ward to appeal her conviction.”

After a discussion, Lockwood wrote that Spencer got up from his chair and walked toward Williams, saying Williams was trying to make him look bad, whereupon Spencer told Williams to get out of his office.

A message was left by The Herald Bulletin with Williams on Wednesday but not returned.

It was too late Wednesday to reach a member of the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

A message was also left for Ragains but not returned.

Lockwood said Terhune’s trail was scheduled for May 5 but would probably be changed to a later date.