Utah Judge in the Lesbian Foster Care Controversy Removes Himself from the Case

Following his decision to remove a foster child from the home of a lesbian couple, citing the baby's best interest, Judge Scott Johansen from Utah stepped down from the case after receiving negative criticism from various groups.

According to the court ruling issued on Monday, Johansen "disqualifies himself from this case and refers all pending matters to be assigned by the presiding judge," CNN reported

Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland, who have taken care of the nine-month -old baby since August, are legally married and licensed foster parents after going through background checks and several home inspections. The couple who was devastated by the judge's initial decision has called for his disqualification from the case.

According to ABC news, Johansen mentioned in one of the case's court hearings that research shows kids are better off with heterosexual parents. In the court documents, the judge cited that children  raised by conventional parents tend to grow up to be more emotionally stable.

However, the American Psychological Association said otherwise. The association claimed that the judge's theory has no scientific basis.

The decision to remove the child from the couple resulted in a public outrage calling for the judge's impeachment due to his potential prejudiced views, ABC News continued. Critics also questioned Johansen's past behavior referring to the judge's past controversies.

Johansen made the headlines back in 1997 after he slapped a teenager in the Price courthouse. It was reported that the 16-year-old boy became aggressive when they were having a meeting, the report from ABC News stated.  The Utah Judicial Conduct Commission reprimanded the judge for demeaning the judicial courthouse.

Again in 2014, Judge Johansen got involved in another controversy when he offered an outrageous deal to a teenage girl's mother, the news outlet gathered. A complaint was filed by the mother after she was told by the judge that in order to reduce her daughter's community service hours, she needed to cut her teenage daughter's ponytail as her punishment for cutting off a toddler's hair.

Meanwhile, an LGBT civil rights group, Human Rights Campaign, has already filed a complaint against Johansen citing discrimination in the Judicial Conduct Commission, a judicial disciplinary agency in the state of Utah, ABC News added.

In their statement, Peirce and Hoagland were thankful for the judge's decision to step down from the case. They also said that their main concern now is to take care of their lovely foster daughter and look forward to a fair case in the future, Inquisitr reported.

According to Newsweek, the next hearing is expected to take place on the 4^th of December with the new presiding judge Mary Manley.