Kentucky

The 'in house' review of the bonding program for courthouse construction is complete and CJ Minton has opined it was inadequate.  Of course, this was exposed by the Herald Leader and only addresses one of the concerns raised by their special edition.  See more at Law and Mortar.

Will there be further investigation and/or revelations into the costs of the program, the resignations, the prices paid for real estate owned by a justice, and the opulence perceived by some of the courtrooms and judge's chambers? 

In a time of financial upheaval, taxpayers may want more than an investigatory placebo, but rather insist upon the administration of actual justice, due process, and the rule of law to be applied to all when business as usual is unusual.

Will there be more than a financial accounting and correction/cleaning up of ongoing projects, to include administrative, civil, and/or criminal actions for the transgressors as the allegations are not trifling?

Will there be an accounting of the bonding errors and a pointing of the finger for those to blame?

Or will we having "noodling" revisited.

The bonding issue would appear to be only the tip of the iceberg if the Herald Leader story has any merit.  Time will tell.

In light of the claim for transparency and accountability, how about an outside audit of the judicial retirement program and the actual and actuarial costs of the senior status judges program as the retirement fund is now being used to fund indirectly the requirements of a constitutionally elected judiciary which has now been placed on "hold".

AOC Press Release:

FRANKFORT, Ky., March 24, 2009 -- Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. made public today a legal opinion regarding bonding requirements for Kentucky court facilities construction projects. The opinion is the result of the chief justice's call for a comprehensive review of bonding requirements in light of recent questions about inadequate bonding practices.

Chief Justice Minton announced March 4, 2009, that he had retained construction law attorney William G. Geisen to determine whether current court facilities construction projects were appropriately bonded.

"Mr. Geisen conducted a thorough and unbiased review of current bonding practices on our courthouse projects and found that the Administrative Office of the Courts has allowed certain construction managers to furnish Performance and Payment Bonds that are legally insufficient," Chief Justice Minton said. "Mr. Geisen's opinion letter indicates that we must take immediate action to rectify inadequate compliance with our Administrative Procedures. I will be asking the county judge-executives to require the construction managers on their projects to immediately furnish a Performance and Payment Bond equivalent to 100 percent of the Contract Sum, with the Owner as Obligee.

"The AOC has determined that certain construction managers submitted inadequate bonding in an untimely fashion," Chief Justice Minton said. "Many were submitted in the last two months and only after receiving public record requests regarding bonding information. I am deeply committed to restoring the integrity of our construction program. The next step is for Mr. Geisen to determine how this opinion will affect current and future court facilities construction projects and to provide legal advice on how to implement his findings."