Kentucky Law Review

ELSEWHERE: A coupla Indiana stories of note on judicial retention elections, records retention, judicial report cards, and more

For some posts on how the legal systems in other states handle problems and issues dealing with updates in the courts (eg., Indiana's Commission on the Courts) and judicial elections/retention (Ind. and Mo.) and judicial report cards being posted on line (Ks.) and a little about SCOTUS and filling unnecessary records, then follow the following links from the Indiana Law Blog by Marcia Oddi:

• Courts - Practice Pointer: Filing Non-Record Materials before the SCOTUS
• Ind. Courts - Indiana appellate judges create retention website
• Courts - "Missouri judges evaluated a new way for retention vote"
• Courts - "Report cards on Kansas judges are online"
• Ind. Courts - Two stories today on impact of latest report of weighted caseload measures
• Ind. Courts - "Shelby County court records available via online firm"
• Ind. Courts - Report on Thursday's meeting of the Commision on Courts
• Ind. Law - More on: "Can you rely on the Indiana Code?"

U.S. Senior District Judge Edward Johnstone to be grand marshall this Friday at Princeton Parade

From the Princeton Times Leader, Online, is a story about U.S. Senior District Judge Edward Johnstone who will lead Friday’s Black Patch parade as its grand marshal.  The parade is set for Sept. 4 in Princeton.  Click here for the rest of the story.

JUDICIARY: ABA Urges reduction in partisan fights over federal judicial nominations

Reduce partisan fight over judges, lawyers urge FROM HERALD LEADER

The American Bar Association is calling on the next president and Senate to reduce partisan tensions in federal judicial nominations.

 

The incoming president of the lawyers' group, H. Thomas Wells Jr. of Birmingham, Ala., said Sunday that he also is enlisting the help of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to study threats to fair and impartial state courts.

 

At the federal level, the White House should create a commission of Democrats and Republicans to recommend nominees for federal appeals courts and the two senators from each state should establish similar panels to evaluate and recommend federal trial judges, the ABA says in a resolution inspired by Wells. The proposal is certain to be adopted at the group's annual meeting in New York.

 

The bipartisan panels would help "avoid the times when there have been really rancorous debates in the confirmation process," Wells said in an interview with The Associated Press.

 

Nominations from Florida and other states that now use such commissions, Wells said, "almost never have bitter confirmation fights."

JUDICIARY: Irv Maze Appointed to Jefferson Circuit Court Judge

It is now "official"  Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze has been appointed as a Jefferson circuit judge by Gov. Steve Beshear.  As of Aug. 12th, he was also the only candidate who filed for the vacant seat in the November election.

Maze, who served as county attorney for 10 years, will take the seat left vacant by the death earlier this year of Judge Kathleen Voor Montano.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson expects to announce soon the appointment of an interim county attorney, spokesman Chris Poynter said.

Governor Beshear Appoints District Judge for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 4

Governor Beshear Appoints District Judge for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 4

Governor Steve Beshear has appointed the Honorable Elizabeth “Julie” Muth Goodman to the office of District Judge for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 4.

ELSEWHERE: "ABA: W. Va. case has chance to provide landmark ruling"

Judicial recusal issue is subject of post at West Virginia Record prompted by ABA story:

ABA: W. Va. case has chance to provide landmark ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- State Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin's controversial decision not to recuse himself from the appeal of a supporter should serve as a guideline for future similar issues, the American Bar Association says.

SCOKY: Venters Appointed to Kentucky Supreme Court

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Gov. Steve Beshear on Friday appointed longtime judge Daniel Joseph Venters to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Venters succeeds former Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, who retired.

Venters is currently in private practice, but he was a veteran district and circuit court judge in southcentral Kentucky.

The appointment runs until the Nov. 4 general election, but Venters said Friday that he has filed as a candidate to serve the final two years of the term.

The 58-year-old Venters graduated from the University of Kentucky law school in 1975.

For a more detailed account of this appointment to include some history on Judge Venters' cases in the news while a circuit judge, then go to Andrew Wolfson's story at the Courier Journal - Gov. appoints new Supreme Court Justice

JUDGES: Ernesto Scorsone appointed Circuit Judge for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 7 (Fayette)

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Governor Steve Beshear has appointed the Honorable Ernesto Scorsone to the office of Circuit Judge for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 7.

Scorsone is currently a Kentucky state senator representing the 13th district in Fayette County. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. This appointment shall serve until the general election on Nov. 4, 2008.

JUDICIARY: Judicial Nominating Commission announces names of nominees for vacant circuit and district judgeships in Fayette County

FRANKFORT, Ky., Aug. 6, 2008. The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr., today announced the three nominees to fill the vacant circuit judgeship for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Division 7, and the three nominees to fill the vacant district judgeship for the 22nd Judicial District, Division 4, both of which serve Fayette County.

The three attorneys named as nominees to fill the circuit vacancy are Michael Preston Farmer, Thomas Harold Glover and Ernesto Mario Scorsone, all of Lexington.

The Circuit Court judgeship was left vacant when Judge Sheila R. Isaac retired as of June 3.

The three attorneys named as nominees to fill the district vacancy are Kimberly Henderson Baird, Elizabeth (Julie) Muth Goodman and Sarah (Sally) Louisa Manning, all of Lexington.

The District Court judgeship was left vacant when Judge David F. Hayse retired as of June 2.

Nominees for the Circuit judgeship

Michael Preston Farmer practices law as a solo practitioner in Lexington, focusing on civil litigation. He specializes in insurance defense, personal injury, banking law and employment law. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1990 and has been a practicing attorney for 18 years. He earned his juris doctor at Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., graduating in 1990. He has a bachelor's degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky.

Thomas Harold Glover has been an attorney for 28 years and practices with the law firm of Webb, Hoskins, Glover & Thompson PSC in Lexington. He specializes in construction law and arbitration, contract/commercial lease disputes and mediation, plaintiff's personal injury litigation, fidelity and surety law, franchise law and administrative law. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1975 after obtaining his juris doctor from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law that year. He has a bachelor's degree from Peabody College in Nashville. Tenn.

Ernesto Mario Scorsone is a Kentucky senator who has been a practicing attorney for 32 years. Since 1996, his focus has been criminal law. He has been a Kentucky legislator for approximately 24 years, with the years evenly split between the Kentucky Senate and the House of Representatives. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1976 after obtaining his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law that year. He also has been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court and the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He earned his bachelor's degree from UK.

Nominees for the District judgeship

Kimberly Henderson Baird is an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Fayette County, a position she has held since 1996. She is a member of the National Bar Association. She was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1996 after obtaining her juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law that year. She earned her bachelor's degree from UK.

Elizabeth (Julie) Muth Goodman is a solo practitioner in private practice in Lexington and has been an attorney for 28 years. She was previously an attorney for the United States Equestrian Federation Inc. (2004-2007), several private firms and was an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Fayette County (1993-1994). She is also a former Kentucky assistant attorney general. She was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1980 after obtaining her juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law that year. She is also a member of the American Bar Association and New York Bar Association. She earned her bachelor's degree from Transylvania University.

Sarah (Sally) Louisa Manning been an attorney for 25 years, most recently as an attorney with the Fayette County Attorney's Office, from 1994 through 2008.  She previously was an attorney with the Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office (1985-1993) and the Cobb County District Attorney's Office in Marietta, Ga. (1983-1984). She was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1984 after obtaining her juris doctor from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Alabama. She is also a member of the Georgia Bar Association. She earned her bachelor's degree from Auburn University in Alabama.

Judicial Nominating Process
When a judicial vacancy occurs, the executive secretary of the Judicial Nominating Commission publishes a notice of vacancy in the judicial circuit or the judicial district affected. Attorneys can recommend someone or nominate themselves. The names of the applicants are not released. Once nominations occur, the individuals interested in the position return a questionnaire to the Office of the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Minton then meets with the Judicial Nominating Commission to choose three nominees. Because the Kentucky Constitution requires that three names be submitted to the governor, in some cases the commission submits an attorney's name even though the attorney did not apply. A letter naming the three nominees is sent to Gov. Steve Beshear for review. The governor has 60 days to appoint a replacement, and his office makes the announcement.

Makeup of the Judicial Nominating Commission
The Judicial Nominating Commission is established in the Kentucky Constitution. Ky. Const. § 118; SCR 6.000, et. Seq. The commission has seven members. The membership is comprised of the chief justice of Kentucky (who also serves as chair), two lawyers elected by all the lawyers in their circuit/district and four Kentucky citizens who are appointed by the governor. The four citizens appointed by the governor must equally represent the two major political parties, so two must be Democrats and two must be Republicans. It is the responsibility of the commission to submit a list of three names to the governor and the governor must appoint a judge from this list of three.

November Election

The Circuit Court judge and District Court judge appointed by Gov. Beshear will serve until after judges are elected to those seats in November. The circuit and district judgeships for the 22nd Circuit, Division 7, and the 22nd District, Division 4, will be on the ballot for the November 2008 general election. Once the State Board of Elections certifies the election results, the elected judges will immediately be sworn into office. The elected judges will serve for the remainder of the terms for the circuit and district judgeships. The seats will be on the ballot again at the conclusion of the terms, which is 2014 for the circuit judgeship and 2010 for the district judgeship.

The filing deadline for the November general election is Aug. 12. Candidate filing procedures and the election calendar are available on the Office of Secretary of State Web site at www.sos.ky.gov/elections/procedures.htm.

UPDATED:  The brief bio on Sally Manning was updated on 8/7/2008 @ 10:46 pm from information received from the AOC. /Mike Stevens

SCOKY: Robert W. Dyche III of London, Eddie C. Lovelace of Albany and Daniel J. Venters of Somerset are the three nominees for Chief Justice Lambert's seat on the bench

Judicial Nominating Commission announces names of nominees for Supreme Court vacancy in 3rd District

Please note that the justice appointed by Gov. Beshear will serve until after a justice is elected to the 3rd Supreme Court District seat in November. The seat will be on the ballot for the November 2008 general election. Once the State Board of Elections certifies the election results, the elected justice will immediately be sworn into office. This justice will serve for the remainder of the term for the 3rd District seat, which ends in 2010. The seat will be on the ballot again in 2010.

The filing deadline for the November general election is Aug. 12.

FRANKFORT, Ky., Aug. 5, 2008. The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr., today announced the three nominees to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat for the 3rd District, which is comprised of 27 counties in southcentral Kentucky. The Supreme Court seat was left vacant by former Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert, who retired June 27.

The three attorneys named as nominees to fill this vacancy are Robert W. Dyche III of London, Eddie C. Lovelace of Albany and Daniel J. Venters of Somerset.

The 3rd Supreme Court District is comprised of Adair, Bell, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Estill, Garrard, Green, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Lincoln, Marion, McCreary, Metcalfe, Monroe, Nelson, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Taylor, Washington, Wayne and Whitley counties.

Nominees

Robert W. Dyche III is a former Kentucky Court of Appeals judge who practices law in London. He was a Court of Appeals judge from 1986 to 2006 and a District Court judge for the 27th Judicial District, which consists of Laurel and Knox counties, from 1978 to 1986. As an attorney, his areas of practice include insurance defense, personal injury, Social Security for plaintiffs, real estate and criminal defense. He is a frequent speaker at continuing education seminars for judges and attorneys and is a former member of the Judicial Conduct Commission (2002-2006), the Kentucky Continuing Judicial Education Commission (1992-2006) and the Ethics Committee of the Kentucky Judiciary (1997-2002). He was admitted to practice law by the Kentucky Bar and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, in 1975. He earned his juris doctor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating in 1975. He has a bachelor's degree from Centre College in Danville.

Eddie C. Lovelace has been a Circuit Court judge for the 40th Judicial Circuit since 1992. He was previously the commonwealth's attorney for Clinton, Russell and Wayne counties from 1969 to 1992, county attorney for Clinton County from 1965 to 1969 and attorney for the city of Albany from 1961 to 1965. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1961 after graduating from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law with his juris doctor in 1959. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky.

Daniel J. Venters is a former Circuit Court and District Court judge who practices law as an attorney in Somerset, focusing on civil litigation. His areas of practice include real estate, contracts, insurance and probate. He has also represented clients in criminal and family law cases. He was a judge for the 28th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties, from 1984 to 2003. From 1979 to 1984, he served as a judge for the 28th Judicial District, which consists of Pulaski and Rockcastle counties. He served as assistant commonwealth's attorney for Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties from 1975 to 1979. He was admitted to practice by the Kentucky Bar in 1975, the U.S. District Court - Eastern District - in 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001 and the U.S. District Court - Western District - in 2004. He earned his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating in 1975. He has a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University.