A judge in the 46th Judicial Circuit, which covers Taney County, is facing the possibility of a lawsuit from a former Branson entertainer, following a ruling from the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bart Rockett filed suit against Judge Eric Eighmy after his children were jailed twice, once following a custody hearing, and a second time when an order was issued for them to be picked up while in Louisiana. Rockett’s suit claimed Eighmy’s actions were outside his purview as a judge and thus he was not protected by judicial immunity; the Missouri Attorney General’s office, who defended Eighmy, claimed the immunity was still valid for the incidents.
According to documents from the 8th Circuit, the first incident took place in 2019 following a hearing where Rockett and his ex-wife Kami Ballard had worked out an agreement for custody where the children would spend a month with Ballard before returning to live with Rockett in California, where the children, then 12 and 14, were seeking careers in the entertainment industry.
Active Weather for the Week, Weekend
Sides Pleads Not Guilty in Taney County Case
Toll road text scam growing across Missouri, nationwide