Kentucky

" Kentucky ranked most transparent state for online government spending records"

Posted on April 20, 2010
From Kentucky Open Government Blog: Kentucky ranked most transparent state for online government spending records By Jon Hale A new report, rating each state's use of online databases to give the public information about government spending, lists Kentucky as the only state getting an "A" grade...

The Constitution in 2020: Religion in the Public Sphere

Posted on April 20, 2010
From University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law Blog: The Constitution in 2020: Religion in the Public Sphere By vmsmit06 on Student The Kentucky Lawyer Chapter and the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Student Chapter of the American Constitution Society present: "The Constitution in 2020: Religion in the Public" on April 27 at the Louisville Bar Association...

2010 LEGISLATION: "House passes juror and radon bills; GOP fails again with discharge petition"

Posted on March 31, 2010
From the Bluegrass Politics Blog with the Kentucky Herald Leader (www.Kentucky.com), I submit the following squib and link: House passes juror and radon bills; GOP fails again with discharge petition By Jack Brammer on KY General Assembly FRANKFORT -- Any Kentuckian who is at least 80 and disabled may have his or her name removed from the list of prospective jurors under a bill the House approved 85-5 Friday...

2010 LEGISLATURE: "Senate approves ban on texting while driving"

Posted on March 30, 2010
From the Bluegrass Politics Blog with the Kentucky Herald Leader (www.Kentucky.com), I submit the following squib and link: Senate approves ban on texting while driving By Government Editor on KY General Assembly By Jack Brammer - jbrammer@herald-leader...

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STATE: Jury convicts all 8 defendants in Clay County vote-buying case FROM BLUEGRASS POLITICS BLOG/KENTUCKY.COM

Posted on March 29, 2010
Jury convicts all 8 defendants in Clay County vote-buying case By Government Editor on State Government By Bill Estep - bestep@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT ? Some of the most powerful politicians in Clay County corrupted the election process in recent years, buying and stealing votes in pursuit of power and money, a federal jury ruled Wednesday...

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS: Sitting Judge fined for illegal campaign contributions in election that put her on the bench

Posted on March 28, 2010
Judge Katie King and her father, mayoral candidate (and metro councilman) Jim King, were fined $15,000 each today (3/25/2010). His violation was giving $130,000 to her campaign, and her violation was accepting it. Although, the Kentucky Registry of Finance concluded the violations were "not knowing", the Kentucky Attorney General has referred the matter to Special Prosecutor Hart McGibben for investigation (and he has been sitting on this for months!)...

APPELLATE DECISIONS (Pretrial deadlines): COA decision addresses effect of new trial date and old pretrial deadlines

Posted on March 23, 2010
A new trial date may or may not affect the existing pretrial deadlines, eg., disclosures of witnesses, experts, damages, exhibits, instructions etc. Some guidance when the new trial order may not be clear is found in the COA decision of Rawlings v. Interlock Industries, Inc...

APPELLATE DECISIONS: COA reverses a denial of JNOV and addresses prejudice of voir dire questions relating to plaintiff's occupation/profession as lawyer

Posted on March 23, 2010
This COA decision announced Mar. 5, 2010 and authored by Judge Combs arose from a trial out of Jefferson County and resulted in Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman being reversed. The decision was styled Jospeh L. and Julie Hardesty vs. Scot-Bilt Homes and Kenneth S...

TORT REPORT: COA Published Six Tort Decisions in Jan. 2010

Posted on March 22, 2010
The COA published 6 torts decisions and 1 insurance law decision in January 2010. TORTS A. Baxter v. AHS Samaritan Hospital, LLC 2008-CA-000541 01/15/2010 2010 WL 133796 Opinion by Judge Keller; Judge Acree concurred; Judge Caperton dissented in part by separate opinion...

APPELLATE DECISIONS: COA Reverses Trial Judge's dismissal for lack of prosecution for failure to make required findings

Posted on March 21, 2010
Senior Status Judge Lambert authored a decision which reversed and remanded the trial judge's dismissal for lack of prosecution for failure to make the required findings. I can't say whether this published decision will mark a change in appellate attitude regarding these dismissals for lack of movement by one side or the other, but one might think depriving any party of their Constitutional rights to a jury trial for not moving the case forward is a harsh remedy which ignores the facts of the case...

TORTS (wrongful termination): Brett v. Media General Operations, Inc. (COA 1/29/2010)

Posted on March 21, 2010
Brett v. Media General Operations, Inc. 2008-CA-000620 01/29/2010 2010 WL 323136 Opinion by Senior Judge Harris; Judges Lambert and VanMeter concurred. The court affirmed a summary judgment entered by the circuit court in favor of appellant?s former employer, a television station, and its general manager and an order awarding costs to the employer...

APPELLATE DECISIONS: COA reverses a denial of JNOV and addresses prejudice of voir dire questions relating to plaintiff's occupation/profession as lawyer

Posted on March 21, 2010
This COA decision announced Mar. 5, 2010 and authored by Judge Combs arose from a trial out of Jefferson County and resulted in Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman being reversed. The decision was styled Jospeh L. and Julie Hardesty vs. Scot-Bilt Homes and Kenneth S...

APPELLATE DECISIONS: Subrogation/reimbursement language in policy did not include UM/UIM proceeds

Posted on March 20, 2010
The Court of Appeals in a case of first impression interpreted an insurance policy's subrogation language to rule that the clause was ambiguous and did not include a claim against the uninsured motorist policy. The language in the policy - "claim against any person, firm, or corporation for the injuries and damages sustained as a result of the occurrence on or about the above referenced date," and the language in the subsequently signed reimbursement agreement (which was objected to as changing the terms of the policy and without additional consideration) - "the amount paid by the third party which represents reimbursement to the Insured for such expenses" were interpreted to include a third party tortfeasor and not another insurer...

FAMILY LAW: COA Holds Workers Compensation settlement was marital property in divorce per KRS 403.190

Posted on March 20, 2010
Senior Status Judge Harris recently addressed the issue of whether workers compensation benefits were marital property and thus subject to equitable distribution in a divorce. Here is a squib and link to the decision: Day v. Day 2008-CA-000133 12/11/2009 2009 WL 4722579 Opinion by Senior Judge Harris; Judges Lambert and VanMeter concurred...

LOUISVILLE: "Ali tried in state mock trial match"

Posted on March 09, 2010
From Courier Journal: Ali tried in state mock trial match Muhammad Ali was surprisingly relaxed as he prepared to go on trial in downtown Louisville on Sunday. Perhaps it was because he wasn't feeling like himself. In fact, he wasn't himself at all. He was Josh Barrett, a 15-year-old who was playing the legendary boxer in a mock trial competition.

LOUISVILLE: "U of L course sees law through lens of literature" taught by attorney Donald Vish

Posted on March 08, 2010
From Courier Journal is a very interesting story regarding a "Law and Perspective" course at UofL Law entitled "Law and Literature" taught by attorney Donald Vish: U of L course sees law through lens of literature In most of their classes, they pore over torts, contracts and other exacting areas of the law...

LAWYERS: Couier Journal Story - "Law firm, medical clinic accused of trading clients"

Posted on March 06, 2010
Andrew Wolfson of the Courier Journal has followed up with a story on the recent lawsuit filed against a local law firm alleging ties with "Ask Gary". Please see our earlier Feb. 5, 2010 post which contains a link to a copy of the actual complaint filed - LAWYERS: Winters, Yonker and Rousselle plus 1st Physician Rehab named in lawsuit filed in Jefferson Circuit Court...

From Bluegrass Politics Blog: Bill would force legislature, courts to disclose spending

Posted on March 06, 2010
From Bluegrass Politics Blog: Bill would force legislature, courts to disclose spending By Government Editor on State Government By John Cheves - jcheves@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT -- The General Assembly and the state courts would have to disclose details of their spending online in a bill the House State Government Committee approved Thursday...

Kentucky Open Government Blog - useful site for lawyers and those interested in government openness

Posted on March 06, 2010
I have the Kentucky Open Government Blog in my RSS aggregator since many of its posts are useful for lawyers and government information. Here are some recent posts to whet your appetite: Louisville SPJ hosting session on freedom-of-information issues; register by March 10 Committee OKs bill for openness in family courts Louisville Freedom-of-information session March 13 Bill to open child-abuse death records turned into one for a study that wouldn't be done until 2012

COA 2010 Minutes: February 26, 2010 (Nos. 194-230)

Posted on March 06, 2010
COA 2010 Minutes: February 26, 2010 (Nos. 194-230) 37 decisions 5 Published 2 Petitions for rehearing DENIED 1 motion to reconsider DENIED 1 motion for interlocutory relief DENIED Tort/Insurance Decisions: 194 Collins v. Brown 212 Abney v. KFBM Workers Compensation Decisions: 209 Evans v...

Tech: Two posts on iPhone and why lawyers should get this over the other smartie phoney thingees

Posted on March 01, 2010
Two recent tech posts at TechnoEsq.com. For what it is worth, I finally went to a 'smart' phone; and the one I picked was the iPhone. It allows me to access my calendars (outlook at work, iCal on my Mac Mini); multiple email accounts (some solely at gMail for listserves, outlook at the office, and Mail on my Mac Mini); my contacts on both work and at home; my Sugar Synch files (which synchronizes files between apple and windows! and is available in the sky and on the road) my Evernote (which runs on both windoze and apple) my Drop Box files FastCase legal research Web browser using Safari and much much more Enuff about me, here are two recent posts from Finis Price: Another Reason the iPhone is the Lawyer?s Phone By Finis Price on lawyer Not a week after finishing the final draft of an article discussing the iPhone?s superiority over phones such as the Droid and Nexus One (basically Android OS phones) for attorneys, an analysis by DisplayMate has revealed the Nexus One?s screen, while offering a higher resolution in icon displays actually lacks the sharpness and correct coloring ...

COURTS: Judge Willett named chief judge, chief regional judge for Jefferson County Circuit Court

Posted on February 27, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett was recently named the chief judge of Jefferson County Circuit Court and the chief regional circuit judge for the Metro Region, which is comprised of Jefferson County. Judge Willett was elected by his fellow Jefferson County circuit judges to serve as their chief judge...

AOC: Courthouse construction under Lambert's tenure and a build now pay later is financially squeezing the courts and the counties per Lexington Herald Leader editorial

Posted on February 17, 2010
Courthouse construction and alleged excesses portrayed in following editorial from the Lexington Herald Leader. Ouch as the financial bird that flew the coop this past decade under the tenure of former Chief Justice Lambert has come home to roost on Chief Justice Minton in a financial quagmire not of his own making but the repercussions are now being felt during his watch...

INSURANCE - Unfair Claims: SHAHEEN v. PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY

Posted on February 17, 2010
Judge Russell's opinion addresses an attempted dismissal of a claim alleging a violation of the Kentucky Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act in which the liability insurer's proffer of policy limits was rejected by the plaintiff who wanted an unconditional offer but the insurer conditioned its tender upon a release of its insurer...

Jefferson County School Closings and Court Closings Available as Text Message Alerts from Fox 41

Posted on February 15, 2010
Yes. And they are free to boot. Just have to have a text messaging cell phone. That's all! Choose from the following message categories: News - Choose to get Breaking News, AMBER Alerts, the Daily Weather Forecast and more. Severe Weather Alerts - Be alerted when severe weather threatens...

COURTHOUSES: New Pike County Courthouse spotlighted in W.Va. Newspaper

Posted on February 15, 2010
From the Williamson Daily News on the new Pike County Courthouse and property formerly owned by Justice Will T. Scott: Making way for progress? Williamson Daily News Some of the controversy surrounding the new courthouse is centered on the site on which it will be built...

JEFFERSON TRIAL COURTS: OPEN TUESDAY FEB. 16, 2010 - read below for details

Posted on February 15, 2010
Courts OPEN - Jefferson Trial Courts, Circuit, Family and District will operate on regular hours Tuesday, February 16, 2010. The new jury panel is to report at 10 a.m.

Weekly News Roundup - Feb 8 - 14, 2010

Posted on February 14, 2010
Please click on the links for the entire and complete stories found at news sites and other blogs: Kentucky Divorce Arbitration Death Blow By Diana L. Skaggs on Case Law - Kentucky Attorney Diana Skaggs Takes Issue With Ct. of Appeals Ruling Which Voids Family Court Arbitration Procedures ? Ruling virtually invites Sup...

ELECTION FINANCES: Jefferson County Kings are not the only elected folks facing financial scrutiny in the commonwealth over their campaign spending and fundraising

Posted on February 14, 2010
If you don't think a few bucks from a candidate's father to get her a judicial seat (a/k/a Katie King) is endemic of a campaign finance problem, then take a look elsewhere as seats are for sale and outside interests pony up bucks to put their people in office...

AOC: "Bust of McAnulty unveiled Thursday" from BG Politics Blog

Posted on February 14, 2010
From Bluegrass Politics Blog at Herald Leader: Bust of McAnulty unveiled Thursday By Beth Musgrave on Steve Beshear By Beth Musgrave - bmusgrave@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT ? A bust of the state?s first black Supreme Court justice was unveiled Thursday as part of a Black History Month celebration...

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