I liked some of these photos of Kentucky politico's and their reading efforts as portrayed at the state's web site.
First into the chute is local lawyer and legislator Scott Brinkman.
BlueGrassRoots.org blogger and lawyer Ben Carter is passing the reins of running that blog to others. Ben began writing at the blog when he was a student at the University of Kentucky. I met Ben a few years back when both of us attended (and matriculated!) from a one-week course by the AOC training us to be mediators!
Ben is now married and practicing law here in Louisville with the Legal Aid Society. The picture to the left is Ben and his wife found at the Daily Independent.
Best of wishes to Ben, and here's a link to his fond farewell.
Ben Carter is an attorney with the Housing Unit of the Legal Aid Society. He focuses his practice on providing home-buyers representation at the closing table. Ben is admitted to practice in Kentucky and Palau. Prior to joining Legal Aid in September 2008, Ben worked in the Public Defender's Office in Palau and with the Franklin County (KY) Circuit Court. Ben was also a Fellow at The Watson Foundation.
Here's their marriage announcement.
It's the time of year for Thanksgiving and turkeys; and it looks like some Louisville law firms are gobbling up some Indiana law firms:
From Business First are the following stories:
First, Cincinnati-based law firm Frost Brown Todd LLC is expanding its presence in Indiana early next year with a deal to acquire Locke Reynolds LLP of Indianapolis. Click here for entire story.
And, second, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC law firm plans to merge with Indianapolis-based Ice Miller LLP on Jan. 1, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported, citing “several sources in the legal community.” Click here for entire story.
I received the following story about Ned Pillersdorf, an attorney from Prestonsburg, who showed his commitment to fair and free elections as he traveled to Ohio to serve as a "Counselor for Change."
Here is the story from the Daily Yonder. I have extracted part of the story Ned Pillersdorf wrote sharing his experience on this road trip for change.
Speak Your Piece: The Election Seen From One Poll In Zanesville
My 30 or so hours spent in Ohio on election eve and election day as an attorney observer were filled with tension, tedium, frustration, comic intervention, hilarity and finally exhilaration and joy. It was anything but dull.This journey began when I sent $100 and my contact information to the Barack Obama campaign in early February. After receiving hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from the campaign, one item caught my attention. I was offered the opportunity to be a “Counselor for Change.” This meant serving as a lawyer observer at the polls on election day in Ohio. The journey was enticing because I would be joined by the legendary John and Jean Rosenberg of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, veterans of the civil rights movement who worked for the Department of Justice in the early sixties. John actually filed the first voting rights act lawsuit against the governor of Mississippi, the day after President Johnson signed the law in 1965.
Our instructions were to join four hundred other lawyers at a synagogue in Columbus on election eve for poll observer training. Being in the same room with hundreds of other lawyers is an environment I consider to be roughly equivalent to torture. While I am a lawyer, and have been for more than 27 years, the truth is I can’t stand lawyers, especially lawyers huddled together. What do they talk about? Themselves, of course and the fact they have never lost a case, legal struggle, etc.,. When they finish describing their great legal ability, they talk about themselves, their cars and homes.
This gathering of lawyers was remarkably different. There was a palpable tension in the air and a laser-like focus on the task at hand: policing the polls on Election Day. Many of the lawyers were from other places. Rather than talk about themselves, there were intense discussions as to the intricacies of Ohio election law, and a general belief that the election would be stolen if we weren’t careful. There was also a serious, subdued atmosphere. This was Ohio of course, where four years earlier John Kerry lost the election.
Fittingly, the last speaker at the training introduced to us as Cam Kerry. He did not identify himself as or mention that he was the somewhat shorter brother of John Kerry. Instead he painfully reminisced about what had happened in Ohio four years earlier. While it has been four years, it was clear that to him, it still felt like the pain was inflicted four minutes ago.
I was assigned to Zanesville, Ohio, to be an outside poll watcher. (John and Jean were sent to Columbus). Zanesville is located about an hour east of Columbus. Zanesville is economically distressed, and had just been visited by Joe Biden a few hours before I arrived on election eve. The primary job of an outside attorney poll watcher is to monitor the anticipated long line and offer paper ballots to those who might have to wait too long and leave out of frustration.
I was at my post at 5:45 a.m. to find no line, but a steady stream of voters. Nothing was happening, so at about 11:00 a.m., I called the Obama campaign and asked for another assignment. The line was never long, and I felt I could be more useful elsewhere. Just as I ended the cell phone call, the adventure began.
All day I had observed a heavy set young woman hanging around in the parking lot handing out some type of pamphlet. Suddenly appearing on the scene were five or six young workers, wearing coordinated light blue t-shirts, who were also handing out pamphlets. The light blue t-shirters were a gay rights advocacy group, whose material was to promote a bill in the state legislature. I found their presence to make no sense. Unlike in the other states, there was no gay rights initiative on the Ohio ballot in this election cycle.
Predictably the Board of Election officials came out to chase these folks away, apparently for violating the 100-foot electioneering rule. I then spent the next ten minutes trying to referee what I thought was a humorous but intense argument about whether any or all of these folks were within the 100-foot boundary. Is the boundary measured from the polling place door? The flags outside? Or perhaps the machines inside the building?
Finally someone, and I’m not sure who, said, “They’re calling the Sheriff.” In that moment, summoning all of my lawyer’s skills, I announced that I had located the 100-foot line and urged all to stay behind. No one was happy. Everyone was mad. I must confess I thought all of the histrionics were comical. Minutes later, my cell phone began ringing and ringing. Our argument, boundary dispute, etc. had made its way up the levels of the Obama campaign. I abruptly ended the constant calls by declaring that I had resolved the situation, which was true to a degree.
Then the McCain people arrived. Two well-dressed women started handing out McCain stuff, behind the lines. Suddenly emerging from the McCain car was an older gentleman who was visibly and very angry. Then another car pulled up filled with new voters.
The angry McCain gentleman approached the voters from the front of the car. Big mistake. If he had looked at the rear of the car, he would have noticed the dozen or so left-leaning bumper stickers, and the hand written proclamation, “IMPEACH BUSH.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that these folks were there to vote for Obama. The angry McCain pamphleteer was oblivious to the political messages.
I would like to say that I used my lawyer listening skills and could relate the substance of the parking lot conversation/confrontation, but I can’t. The reason I can’t so relate is that I was convulsed with laughter at the political spectacle I was watching. The rest of the afternoon passed with the warring factions glaring at each other behind my improvised 100-foot barrier line.
Driving home to Kentucky that night, I could not escape the palpable tension and passion that I had observed in Ohio. After initial deep gloom I experienced when it was announced that Obama had lost Kentucky (badly), my mood was instantly transformed with the joyful exhilaration when Wolf Blitzer announced that Ohio had gone for Obama. From that moment my cell phone started ringing. My wife told me that at a Kentucky election party, someone had credited me with the Ohio victory.
There is exactly zero amount of truth to such a pronouncement. To even suggest it, is an insult to the patriotic, unselfish, determined and colorful folks I had observed working for Obama in Ohio. My reward was to have a front row seat to a very small slice of American history in the parking lot of that Zanesville, Ohio, precinct. As the Master Card commercial says, the value of my seat was “priceless.”
Ned Pillersdorf is an attorney in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
From the Murray Times and Ledger:
Governor taps Blankenship to fill Ward's post
By HAWKINS TEAGUE
Staff WriterGov. Steve Beshear has appointed Murray attorney C. Mark Blankenship as the commonwealth attorney for the 42nd Judicial District covering Calloway and Marshall counties.
“Mr. Blankenship has an exemplary record and he comes highly recommended by people in the region,” said Jay Blanton, communications director for the Governor's Office. “Gov. Beshear was pleased to make this appointment.”
Blankenship will be occupying the position previously held by Mike Ward, who resigned in August after pleading guilty to DUI charges in March and July of this year.
Blankenship said he would be sworn in by Circuit Judge Denis Foust this afternoon in Benton.
He said he had received a fax at his office yesterday informing him of the appointment and that he was excited to be taking the job.
He said that he and others in the community felt that the position should be held by a Calloway County resident and that he was thankful for their support and their lobbying to Beshear on his behalf.
“I always hoped to get the opportunity to hold this position and I'm going to do the best I can,” he said.
The position is a six-year term, but Blankenship said there were two years left in this term.
He said he hoped to bring a detective back into the commonwealth attorney's office, as well as have two assistant attorneys and two or three paralegals.
Blankenship graduated from Murray State University in 1974 and from the University of Louisville's Louis D. Brandeis School of Law in 1979. He has been a practicing attorney since then and was assistant commonwealth attorney from 1982 to 1987.
According to Ledger & Times archives, Blankenship was an associate and partner in the law firm Hughes, Gregory, Easley, Blankenship and Courtney. He established his solo practice in 1997.
Blankenship is a Murray native and has served as a public and federal defender and special domestic relations commissioner. At his current practice, he has handled cases across western Kentucky mostly dealing with school, employment, civil rights, criminal and real estate law.
A Franklin County judge has ordered public defenders to stop refusing certain types of cases because of funding problems.
The temporary injunction, which was entered Friday afternoon by Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas D. Wingate, was made at the request of lawyers for Kentucky State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach and Finance and Administration Secretary Jonathan Miller.
The executive and legislative branches are being sued by the Department of Public Advocacy, which claims that it was not provided enough funds this spring to meet its constitutional obligation to represent poor criminal defendants.
Lawmakers, who were facing budget shortfalls, cut DPAs budget by $2.3 million, to $37.8 million, in the fiscal year that began in July.
Wingate ruled there are serious questions as to whether DPA will succeed in its litigation. He ordered public defenders to stop refusing to represent certain types of clients until the litigation is resolved.
From the UofL Law blog:
The law school is pleased to announce that adjunct law professor, Tom FitzGerald, has received the prestigious 14th annual Heinz Award for the Environment, a national honor that includes a $250,000 prize.
Mr. FitzGerald who has been hailed as Kentucky's environmental watchdog, has taught energy and environmental law at the law school since 1986 and has served as Director of the Kentucky Resources Council since 1984. He has also mentored many students interested in pursuing careers in public service, including Liz Edmondson, '07. "Fitz embodies the law school's vision of public service and has worked tirelessly as the state's premier environmental advocate over the past 25 years."
The Awards were established by Teresa Heinz in 1993 to honor the memory of her late husband, U.S. Senator John Heinz. They celebrate the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to him, including: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy and Employment.
Heinz Award to Louisville activist (Courier-Journal.com, 09/09/08)
Tom FitzGerald wins the Heinz Award in the Environment (Cardinal Lawyer)
The Prosecutors Advisory Council and Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that Mike Ward, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 42nd Judicial Circuit, resigned as part of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) guilty plea entered in Graves District Court this morning.
The following editorial from the Herald Leader on Sunday, July 20, 2008 is critical of lawyers following the fen-phen trial results and the budget reductions for the public defender program in Kentucky. This post is critical of the editorial.
The concerns raised over the fen-phen trial are legitimate as it pertains to the image of the legal profession, but unfair if the legal profession as a whole is to blame for the "hung jury" regarding lawyers Gallion and Cunningham.
Two things come to mind (even though I, too, was disappointed and a little suprised by the jury outcome) - First, criminal trials are not civil trials, and the fact that the three lawyers were held accountable in their civil trial with a multi-million dollar verdict is understandable. Criminal trials require a criminal intent and a jury must convict on proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Proof at a civil trial is more likely than not (a standard that unfortunately gets confused and reversed in the minds of some jurors, and unfortunately some judges prohibit an explanatory distinction between the two standards in the civil trial!). Admittedly, the foreman's comments that others should be blamed and indicted are irrelevant to the current prosecution. Second, as most lawyers know, you can't second-guess the jury after it has spoken. The trial is either over on an acquital or conviction; or it might be retried if the jury is hung. When it comes to trusting the jury, your trust should not hinge on liking the result of a trial in which you did not hear all they evidence they heard; and if you did, you still must trust the collective wisdom and judgment of the group, each of whom has taken a sworn oath. It is easy to arm-chair quarterback; it's tough to stay in the pocket facing the rush.
The concerns over the public defender budget cuts and shifting some of the blame on lawyers is disingenuous at best and malicious at worst when applied to the legal profession. Lawyers did not cause the budget revenue shortfall; and the demands of the public defender system include constitutional mandates and optional responsiblities. The priorities are self-evident. Asking that some lawyers intercede and give their time to pick up the slack is a noble request, but unfair since not all lawyers feel comfortable or competent doing that type of work. To place that kind of burden on any business or professional group or any particular segment of the taxpaying public is as the Mary Chapin Carpenter song goes "not too much to ask, but too much to expect."
Editorial
Justice for all? Not if you're poorThe legal profession's image took a beating from the fen-phen travesty. The state budget crunch gives lawyers a chance to lessen that taint.
How? By stepping up and relieving Kentucky's overworked public defenders. Outrageous caseloads and $2.3 million in budget cuts are forcing them to refuse some indigent clients.
The need is most acute in Fayette County, where a public defender juggles, on average, 696 cases a year, according to the Department of Public Advocacy.
Since 2006, the American Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct have required defense lawyers to withdraw from cases when heavy workloads interfere with providing competent counsel.
With the caveat that work load and caseload are not necessarily the same, the ABA says annual caseloads should not exceed 150 felonies, 400 misdemeanors, 200 juvenile cases, 200 mental health hearings or 25 appeals.
Public defenders are caught in a bind: Do they honor their obligation under Kentucky law to represent indigent people in need of counsel? Or do they violate their professional ethics?
(We know, you feel a lawyer joke coming on, but this is serious.)
Public Advocate Ernie Lewis, who oversees public defenders across the state, is asking the courts to spell out the obligations of the legislature and state government to fund legal defense for those who can't afford it.
The suit raises important constitutional questions about the right to a fair trial. It will likely wind its way from Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate's courtroom all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, someone who violates probation because of mental illness shouldn't have to sit in the Fayette County jail because there's no lawyer to make the case that he belongs at Eastern State Hospital.
In Lexington, Chief Circuit Judge Thomas Clark has put out a plea for volunteers and is receiving a limited response.
The Kentucky Bar Association recommends that lawyers contribute 50 hours of pro bono work a year.
Volunteers filling in for strapped public defenders would be a stopgap and no substitute for a properly staffed system.
Poor clients never really got consistently adequate or equal representation from unpaid lawyers, Atticus Finch notwithstanding. Depriving poor people of due process is repugnant in a democratic society. That's why we have paid public defenders.
Everyone in the legal system — prosecutors, included — has a stake in seeing that justice isn't just for those who can afford it.
One acquittal and two mistrials later, the legal profession's image is still suffering from charges that three prominent Lexington lawyers defrauded their clients of tens of millions of dollars in a drug liability class-action suit.
With that shadow in the background, it would be good to see the legal profession's higher purpose come into view.
