Kentucky Law Review

OTHER BLOGS: Poppe Blog reports on "Louisville Lawyer Suspended from Practice and Criminally Charged For Allegedly Stealing"

Hans Poppe at his law firm's web site has posted the following blog entry entitled "Louisville Lawyer Suspended from Practice and Criminally Charged For Allegedly Stealing". The post references a Courier Journal story on the suspension and criminal charges and  Hans adds the following comment.  However, click on the story for his entire post and a link to the Courier Journal story referenced therein.

It has been my experience that lawyers that steal money from clients don't usually have any insurance or assets. This necessarily means that it will be very difficult for any of his victims to recovery in a legal malpractice lawsuit; however, that doesn't mean his victims should sit idly by, they should hire an attorney to investigate if insurance is available and what, if any, assets are available to reimburse the clients and their estates.

AOC: Robertson County to break ground May 19 for $3.3 million judicial center

Robertson County to break ground May 19 for $3.3 million judicial center

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The public is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Robertson County Judicial Center on Monday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. The event will take place at 73 E. Walnut St. in Mount Olivet.

The Kentucky General Assembly authorized the Robertson County project in 2005 and approved its funding in 2006. The total project cost is $3.3 million. The building will be 9,300 square feet and is expected to be completed in April 2009.

“I appreciate the legislators who supported improved judicial centers for Robertson and other counties,” said Chief Justice of Kentucky Joseph E. Lambert. “Kentucky citizens generate more than 1 million court cases each year. Our citizens deserve safe, efficient facilities in which to conduct their business before the courts.”

Because the new judicial centers often replace older, vastly inadequate facilities, the new buildings greatly increase the efficiency of services and public flow, said Garlan VanHook, executive officer of the Department of Facilities for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

“All new judicial centers are equipped with the modern infrastructure to support data, computer, video and networking technology,” he said. “They also provide the highest level of Kentucky court security through a single-point entry with magnetometers and security personnel.”

GRW Inc. of Lexington designed the Robertson County Judicial Center. Trace Creek Construction Inc. of Vanceburg is the general contractor for the project and Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, which serves Kentucky and six other states, is the financial agent.

Chief Justice Lambert and Robertson County Judge Executive Billy “Hammer” Allison will be among the speakers at the ceremony. Other state and local officials expected to attend include judges, attorneys and the Robertson County Circuit Court clerk. For more information, contact Judge Executive Allison at 606-724-5615.

Here is a picture of the Courthouse being replaced:

May 2008 Supreme Court of Kentucky Oral Arguments (SCOKY) for May 14, 15, 16

May 2008 Supreme Court of Kentucky Oral Arguments (SCOKY) for May 14, 15, 16  posted with links to full text decisions, briefs, etc.

And of course, the public and lawyers are invited to these as well - in Frankfort.

Or catch them at Supreme Court Live as a webcast by clicking here on date and time of argument.

COAKY ARGS: Kentucky Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments May 14 in Prestonsburg

Kentucky Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments May 14 in Prestonsburg
The public is invited to observe as the Kentucky Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in two cases May 14 in Prestonsburg.

See our post at the Kentucky Court Report (http://www.kycases.com ) for

MAY 2008 Court of Appeals Argument Calendar

May 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 21 and 29, 2008.

SCOKY: HL writer reports on "squabble" at SCOKY over AOC Director's Appointment

Brandon Ortiz with the Herald Leader has posted a story on an internal dispute at the Kentucky Supreme Court.  Since few of us get any insight into the persons and the personalities on the bench and how they do business, I am posting the entire story (but 2 days later after it was published on 5/6/2008 to allow Brandon the full news cycle for his work; so if you have read about this in the paper, then move on.).  The reason for the entire posting is due to the bar's probable interest and the short posting cycle of some newspapers.

Chief Justice Lambert is retiring June 27, and two of the sitting justices, Justice Schroder and Justice Minton, are vying for the Chief Justice seat.  Justice Mary Noble has withdrawn her name.

Supreme Court justices feuding over appointment

A squabble among state Supreme Court justices over a key appointment spilled into public view Monday as members of the state's highest court jockey for the title of chief justice.

Justice Wil Schroder of Covington criticized outgoing Chief Justice Joseph Lambert on Monday for reappointing Jason Nemes last month as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts after the state Senate declined to confirm Nemes.

Taking the rare step of making an internal disagreement public, Schroder said Lambert's action does not respect "what we call the rule of law in Kentucky."

"People don't get to pick and choose which laws they follow, including the Supreme Court," Schroder said.

Schroder said Nemes' appointment to head the administrative arm of the state court system has become an issue in the race to replace Lambert as chief justice. Lambert will retire in June.

LAWYERS: Atty Tom FitzGerald appointed by Gov. to Environmental Education Council

From Kentucky.Gov - Attorney Tom FitzGerald appointed Tom FitzGerald to serve as a member of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council. Governor Beshear Appoints Member to Kentucky Environmental Education Council

CRIMINAL: "Death-row inmate's DNA to be checked against fluids on clothing"

From 5/6/2008 Courier Journal is story on DNA testing of deathrow inmate.

Death-row inmate's DNA to be checked against fluids on clothing

An attorney for Brian Keith Moore, who is on death row for a murder he says he didn't commit, said yesterday that lab technicians have found enough DNA on evidence to potentially eliminate Moore as the killer.

JUDGES: Former Judge Douglas C. Combs, Jr. Temporarily Suspended

Herald Leader reports on -

Ex-judge suspended as lawyer

A former Eastern Kentucky circuit judge convicted of mail fraud has been suspended from practicing law by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

The court ruled Thursday that Douglas C. Combs Jr. should be temporarily suspended from practicing law until further notice. Combs was convicted of federal mail fraud in November and sentenced to six months in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Chief Justice Joseph Lambert wrote in the court's opinion that Combs' conduct raised questions about his fitness to practice law.

Combs' plea of guilty to mail fraud in U.S. District Court "put in grave issue whether (he) has the moral fitness to continue to practice law," Lambert wrote.

Combs was a circuit court judge in Perry County. He pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud charges and admitted to hiring temporary employees as substitute court reporters that he instead used to work on his personal business.

FEDERAL: Report critical of diet drug lawyers class action behavior

Law professors' report criticizing the diet drug lawyers' conduct in class action unsealed as reported by this Herald Leader story:

Fen-phen attorneys criticized

Three attorneys facing federal criminal charges in a 2001 fen-phen settlement apparently violated "numerous" procedural and ethical rules in their handling of the class-action case, according to written reports from two legal experts filed by prosecutors in U.S. District Court at Covington.

"A Kentucky lawyer whom I greatly admire once referred to the misconduct of a lawyer in a legal malpractice action as 'this dog's breakfast of facts,'" wrote one of the experts, Edward Brewer III, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University. "If ever there were wrongdoing by lawyers that fit that description, then this case lies at the top of the bowl."

Richard Bales, another professor at NKU's Chase School of Law, wrote in less colorful prose, but concluded that defendants William Gallion, Shirley Cunningham Jr. and Melbourne Mills Jr. "violated several of the basic rules governing class actions" in the fen-phen case.

The reports by Bales and Brewer, filed by federal prosecutors in March, were under seal until this week. Brewer and Bales presumably will be expert prosecution witnesses in the criminal trial of Mills, Cunningham and Gallion scheduled May 12 in Covington.

In another development, a member of Gallion's defense team filed notice with the court that he had been suspended on Tuesday from practicing law in the federal Eastern District of Tennessee. A U.S. district judge found that attorney Herbert Moncier had engaged in unethical conduct during a November 2006 hearing.

SCOTUS: Mildred Loving of Loving v. Virginia dies

Mildred Loving, one of the defendants in the Virginia case that wound its way up to the US Supreme Court passed away.  The decision, Loving v. Virginia, 388 US 1 (1967) can be found by clicking here.  SCOTUS had struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages. 

The story found in the papers today is as follows.

Mildred Loving fought mixed-race marriage bans

Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died, her daughter said Monday.

Peggy Fortune said Mrs. Loving, 68, died Friday at her home in rural Milford. She did not disclose the cause of death.

"I want (people) to remember her as being strong and brave yet humble, and believed in love," Fortune said.

Mrs. Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states.

"There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause," the court ruled in a unanimous decision.

Today 2:03 AM

CRIMINAL CASES: Life sentence in ex-sheriff's killing

Life sentence in ex-sheriff's killing HERALD LEADER 5/6/2008

The man convicted of murdering Harlan County sheriff's candidate Paul L. Browning Jr. must serve at least 25 years in prison, a judge ruled Monday.

The sentence for Raymond Harris of life without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years was less than the jury had recommended. Jurors had said Harris should get life in prison without parole.

But Circuit Judge James L. Bowling Jr. said fairness required that Harris at least have a chance for parole someday.

COA: Kentucky Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments May 12 and 13 in Carrollton

Kentucky Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments May 12 and 13 in Carrollton

The public is invited to observe as the Kentucky Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in five cases May 12 and 13 in Carrollton.

FAYETTE: Cyber Bullying Suit Filed

Lawsuit filed in Fayette over cyber bullying;

Woman sues Fayette school officials

A mother whose daughter was allegedly bullied for at least four months says Fayette County school officials failed to protect the middle school student, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

LAWS: New law makes fleeing fatal car accident a felony

Herald Leader reports on new law.  click on heading for entire story (if available).

Fleeing fatal accident now a felony

Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday signed a law making it a felony for a driver to leave the scene of an accident that involves a death or serious injury.  The law takes effect July 15. It comes two weeks after an 18-year-old University of Kentucky freshman was killed in a high-profile hit and run in downtown Lexington.

COURT: Hardin County lawsuit on superbug infections at the jail

From the Courier Journal is Andrew Wolfson's story on a "flesh eating" bacteria outbreak and lawsuit out of Hardin County.

'Superbug' infects Hardin County inmates

Three inmates claim in lawsuits that they were infected with a painful, disfiguring and potentially fatal staph infection.

OP-ED: "The slow erosion of respect for government"

Last week we provided links to two news stories out of the Herald Leader regarding Kentucky's courthouse construction - AOC: Courthouse construction and court connections raise concerns in Herald Leader stories.

David Hawpe from the Courier Journal has followed up these stories with an op-ed piece.  For his entire piece, click on the heading of the story:

The slow erosion of respect for government

Sigh. Reading about the ownership of land on which a new courthouse is going to be built in Pikeville, I just get weary. Some of it is owned by state Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott and members of his family.

SCOTUS: Local blawg postings include Scalia interview and Kennedy fantasy camp

For you SCOTUS watchers, here are two posts I have picked up by local bloggers.

First, Marcia Oddi, Indiana Law Blog, has one on Justice Scalia:

Courts - Justice Scalia interview
CBS 60 Minutes host Leslie Stahl conducted a remarkable interview of Justice Antonin Scalia, broadcast last evening. You can read the transcript here, but I highly recommend that you watch the interview - links to Part I and Part II are available here.

Second, Dean Jim Chen has a post on Justice Kennedy:

Supreme Court fantasy camp: Justice Kennedy's chambers
My dear friend, Marie T. Reilly, has wistfully wished, "I wish there was Supreme Court fantasy camp."

Well, we can't quite make that happen. But Jurisdynamics and Ratio Juris can do the next best thing: bring Oyez.org's virtual Supreme Court tour to life. Herewith a sample — Justice Kennedy's chambers!

FEDERAL COURTS: Judge Bertelsman will not recuse himself in Diet Drug Criminal Trial

Federal judge refuses to step aside, critical of defense HERALD LEADER

A federal judge in Covington has again denied defense motions that he step aside from the pending trial of three lawyers accused of defrauding plaintiffs in a diet drug settlement. In a written decision released Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman declared motions filed by attorneys for William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. misrepresent the record.

CLICK ON HEADING FORENTIRE STORY.

COURTS: Lawsuit filed in teen's death in bus accident

From Herald Leader,

Lawsuit filed in teen's death

The family of a boy killed Thursday when the bus he was riding in was struck by a dump truck filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon against the truck driver and the trucking company.

Daniel Wood, 16, of Falmouth died after a dump truck, driven by Francisco Yulfo of XXL Trucking, crossed the center line on Ky. 22 in Northern Kentucky and sideswiped a bus for Pendleton County Schools, according to police.

The lawsuit was filed in Pendleton Circuit Court.

The family's attorney, Phil Taliaferro, said the family was seeking evidence related to the accident, including the driver's training record, personnel record, cell phone records and the truck maintenance record.

Taliaferro said a letter has been sent to the trucking company and its lawyer.

COURTS: Judge Bertlesman rules diet drug lawyers' trial will go as planned on May 12

Courier Journal reports that Judge won't delay fraud trial of three lawyers A federal judge in Covington has denied defense motions seeking a delay in the trial of three lawyers charged with wire fraud conspiracy in a diet drug settlement.

FEDERAL COURTS: Diet Drug Criminal Trial Will Not be Delayed

No delay in trial of fen-phen lawyers  HERALD LEADER

Three fen-phen lawyers will go on trial in federal court on May 12, as scheduled. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman rejected motions for a continuance from defense attorneys, saying it was time to move on with the case.

UofL Law: Levinson published law review article entitled "Lawyering Skills, Principles and Methods Offer Insight as to Best Practices for Arbitration"

UofL Law Prof Ariana Levinson's article Lawyering Skills, Principles and Methods Offer Insight as to Best Practices for Arbitration, 60 Baylor L. Rev. 1 (2008), it is now available!

May 2008 Supreme Court of Kentucky (SCOKY) Argument Calendar

May 2008 Supreme Court of Kentucky (SCOKY) Argument Calendar posted at AOC.

Briefs filed at Northern Kentucky University Chase School of Law.

MAY 2008 Court of Appeals Argument Calendar

MAY 2008 Court of Appeals Argument Calendar posted at the Kentucky Court Report (and on line at the AOC)