Legal news stories from around the circuit. Be sure to click on the heading link to go to the provider for the entire story:
A
Lexington lawyer who fought for five years to uncover one of the
largest legal frauds in Kentucky history has been selected as one of
the best lawyers of 2009 by a legal publication.
Lawyers USA, an online and monthly legal news publication, named Angela
Ford as one of 10 top lawyers for 2009. Ford is named along with U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Minnesota Attorney General
Lori Swanson.
By Al Cross
Kentucky,
which leads the nation in deaths of abused and neglected children,
should open its records in such cases and those involving severe
injuuries, the chairman of the state House Health and Welfare Committee
and the head of Kentucky Youth Advocates said yesterday.
Jennifer
Thacker never thought 20 years in prison was enough for the man who
killed her husband, Brandon, while he was working as an Alcoholic
Beverage Control agent. But when she found out that Timothy Doyle would
be released next Monday after having served less than 12 years, Thacker
said she was saddened, scared, and outraged.
Louis
D. Brandeis retired from the Supreme Court on February 13, seventy
years ago. To commemorate the occasion, Louisville’s congressman, John
Yarmuth, introduced a resolution to
the House on the 16th. It’s a nice resolution–it even managed to sneak
in a mention of the Brandeis archives here at the law school. Yarmuth
also gave a nice speech when he introduced the bill, which the Courier-Journal reprinted today.
The
following remarks were given by Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District,
Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House then approved
HR 905, honoring the life of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his retirement from the
court.
By Beth Musgrave - bmusgrave@herald-leader.com
FRANKFORT — Mothers of drug- and alcohol-addicted newborns could face
criminal prosecution under a controversial measure proposed last week
by an Eastern Kentucky lawmaker.
Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville, pre-filed the bill at the
urging of several prosecutors in his district who are frustrated with
the growing number of women who give birth to babies with alcohol or
drugs in their system.
By Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave - jbrammer@herald-leader.com
FRANKFORT — A newly elected Republican state Senator wants to cancel a
costly, four-year-old benefit in the retirement system for state
lawmakers that has been wielded recently by Gov. Steve Beshear as a
political weapon.
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, filed legislation this week that would
cancel a 2005 provision
that allows annual retirement benefits to increase dramatically for
former lawmakers who switch to a judicial or executive branch job.
By
Beth Musgrave - bmusgrave@herald-leader.com
FRANKFORT — Kentucky's budget woes could have long-lasting effects on
the roughly 445,000 Kentuckians who rely on state-run retirement
programs, pension officials warned this month.
It's only been 18 months since lawmakers drafted a 17-year spending
plan to shore up the Kentucky Retirement Systems, which provide
benefits to 330,000 current and retired government employees, but it's
not clear that lawmakers will make the first payment.
Mayoral
candidate and Metro Council member Jim King, a Democrat, outlined a
public safety plan Monday that would reinstate police units
specializing in gangs and street crimes that were reorganized after the
city and county police departments merged in 2003.
Maybe somebody can ask King Jerry why he did nothing about the KLC corruption all these years when he knew
trouble was afoot? Here’s a hint: it’s because he’s just as corrupt as
Sylvia Lovely. Can’t wait for Crit’s audit of his corrupt housing dept.
[H-L ]
Businessman
Charlie Johnson spoke out Friday in support of Louisville Metro Police
Chief Robert White and his efforts to make the city a safer place to
live.
Other
than in the fictional Mayberry, there probably isn't a top law
enforcement officer anywhere who is respected by everybody. But
Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert White certainly comes close.
A
federal judge ruled this week that Comair pilot negligence was a
"substantial factor" in the Flight 5191 crash three years ago at Blue
Grass Airport.
The
chief justice of Kentucky's Supreme Court, John D. Minton, said he
supports a pilot project to allow access to Kentucky's now-secret
family courts.
LEXINGTON,
Ky. — A Fayette Circuit judge Friday morning ordered former state Rep.
Steve Nunn to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he
is competent enough to help prepare for his murder trial.
An
emergency medical technician who was on methadone while driving an
ambulance pleaded guilty to manslaughter Thursday for a 2008 wreck in
which a patient was killed.
It wasn't a long marriage between Denton Cooper and Izetta Johnson before death did them part.
With
little oversight from its executive board, the top staff of the
Kentucky League of Cities lavished itself with excessive salaries and
retirement bonuses in recent years, state Auditor Crit Luallen reported
Thursday.
Ahmed
Zayat, the leading Thoroughbred racehorse owner in North America last
year and breeder of this year's Kentucky Derby second-place finisher,
has been sued in Lexington by Fifth Third Bank. The bank alleges Zayat
owes more than $34 million.
LEXINGTON,
Ky. — The law firm representing former state Rep. Steve Nunn, accused
of killing his ex-fiancée, has been dropped as a defendant in a
wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim's mother.
Gov.
Steve Beshear issued an executive order Wednesday prohibiting state
employees from text messaging while driving state vehicles.
A
sobbing H.C. Wadlington told Jefferson County jurors Wednesday that
this will be the second straight year there will be no Christmas tree
in his home, because his 5-year-old daughter, Claudia, is no longer
alive to see it.
Prosecutors allege defendant sexually assaulted Ivan Cano; trial delayed
Bankruptcy trustee sues over alleged lies that shut down Decker College
Recent law news/headlines from around the circuit. 