Judge Basden Allegedly Discriminated Against Disabled Veteran and Retaliated by Revoking Parental Rights

Following the Olympic Herald’s recent investigations into the “Deadly Decisions” of Judge Brent Basden, a disturbing pattern has begun to emerge.

As reports surface regarding Basden’s history of denying protection to domestic violence victims and placing children in dangerous homes, more Clallam County residents are coming forward with their own harrowing stories of judicial overreach and arbitrary cruelty.

This new account comes from a local family who says Judge Basden targeted a disabled veteran, stripping him of his parental rights without cause and turning a medical tragedy into a legal nightmare.

Targeting a Disabled Veteran

The case involves Landon, a local father and amputee who lost his leg below the knee in November 2020.

In late 2021, Landon and his wife Megan were thrust into the legal system following a severe medical emergency involving their infant son, Nathanael. The child had suffered a cardiac arrest and required extensive CPR, which resulted in healing rib fractures, which is a known consequence of life-saving chest compressions on infants.

The ER physician attending the night of the incident was Josiah Hill, who has since been convicted of rape and sexual assault. Hill was hired by Olympic Medical Center in July 2020, despite the existence of similar allegations in 2018, which led to a police investigation in Tampa, Florida.

Basden’s Unexplained Reversal

Despite medical staff and nurses repeatedly telling Megan that the child did not appear abused, the state pursued a dependency case.

Initially, a court commissioner reviewed the facts and granted Landon unsupervised visitation, allowing the father to be with his son daily.

The system appeared to be working, until the case landed on Judge Basden’s docket.

When the case went to trial before Judge Basden, the dynamic shifted instantly. According to family accounts, Judge Basden unilaterally revoked Landon’s unsupervised access to his son.

The family claims this drastic restriction was not based on any new evidence. There were no new injuries, no police reports, and no violations of the previous visitation order. The situation remained exactly as it had been when the previous commissioner deemed Landon safe to be with his child.

Basden simply decided to overrule the previous order.

The ruling was so baffling that when the case was later transferred to Commissioner Mack for review, Mack expressed confusion as to why Judge Basden had made such a change in the first place. Mack immediately restored Landon’s unsupervised access, effectively overturning Basden’s decision.

Weaponized His Disability

For the family, Basden’s ruling felt like a direct attack on Landon’s status as a disabled veteran.

During the legal proceedings, the family says the state attempted to twist Landon’s physical limitations into evidence of unfitness. They cited an incident where Landon, still adjusting to his prosthetic, had slipped out of his wheelchair while holding the baby.

“They have weaponized his disability and made it sound as if he is an unfit parent simply for being disabled,” Megan told me. “He gave his leg for his country and now his country has spit in his face.”

By revoking visitation, Basden validated this discriminatory narrative, treating a physical disability as a danger to a child.

A Crisis of Confidence

The case against the family was eventually dismissed in August 2022, but the damage inflicted by Judge Basden’s ruling remains.

As Clallam County residents continue to question the integrity of their court system, the question remains: How many other families have been torn apart not by the facts of their case, but by the whim of Judge Basden?