B.J. Penn blames attorney for skipping court-ordered mental exam, seeks new Judge.
UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn appeared in a Hawaii courtroom this week after failing to complete a court-ordered mental health evaluation, and has now put forward motions to both replace his attorney and remove the judge overseeing his case.
Penn, 47, did not show up for the mental health exam that was scheduled late last year as part of legal proceedings tied to multiple arrests in 2025 including charges for alleged family abuse, resisting a police officer, and violating a restraining order.
At the recent hearing in Hilo Circuit Court, Penn claimed he missed the evaluation because his court-appointed public defender failed to notify him of the requirement. Penn said he hadn’t had contact with the attorney since October 2025 and only learned about the mental health order through a third party reviewing court records online.
Penn asked the judge to dismiss his current attorney so he could retain private counsel.
Penn also requested that Judge Peter Kubota recuse himself from the case as well and be replaced by a different judge. In his statement to the court, Penn questioned Kubota’s impartiality in the case while claiming that he attempted to file a motion for the judge to recuse himself and also reached out to his chambers directly but received no response.
During the hearing, Penn said he tried to contact the judge’s chambers to discuss the matter but was unable to reach anyone.
Judge Kubota told Penn to raise his concerns with his attorney first, and if a substantial reason exists for new representation, a separate hearing will be scheduled to decide that request.
“Your honor, I hear what you’re saying,” Penn said during the hearing (via Hawaii News Now) “I’ve been trying to get in touch with — I tried to contact your chambers because I mentioned in the last time I was here about recusing you for the case and about getting a different counsel. But I can’t get through. I can’t get through to you guys.”
Penn has publicly displayed troubling behavior throughout 2025, including posts claiming “impostors” have replaced his family members, behavior his mother, Lorraine Shin, said suggests serious mental health issues. Shin previously filed a restraining order against her son and suggested he may be suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome, a psychiatric condition where loved ones are believed to have been replaced by identical imposters.
“I believe my son [B.J. Penn] is suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome (a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter),” Shin told police when filing for the restraining order. “He believes I’m an imposter who has killed his family to gain control of the family assets.”
The mental health evaluation has now been rescheduled with the examining physician ordered to file a written report by February 23, 2026. Penn’s next court date is set to hold in March, when the judge will review the progress of the case, including any additional motions regarding counsel and the judge’s role.
Despite Penn’s legendary MMA career, which saw him become one of the few fighters to win titles in multiple divisions, his post-fighting life has been marred by legal and personal struggles. The outcome of his upcoming evaluation and court appearance will play a critical role in the direction of his case moving forward.
