Kentucky

SENATE MUST SEAT BURRIS - U.S. SUPREME CT. HAS SET PRECEDENT WHICH LIMITS CONGRESS?S POWER TO REFUSE TO SEAT NOMINEE

Posted on January 06, 2009
Senatorial appointed Roland Burris from Illinois has strong legal argument to be seated.  The Congressional claim to be able to deny a seat at their discretion has been limited by a relative recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1969 (Adam Clayton Powell vs...

Obama?s Justice Department to Make Big Changes

Posted on January 06, 2009
  President-elect Barack Obama reached back to the Clinton administration again Monday to fill four top Justice Department posts with lawyers whose records signal a sharp break from the legal policies of the last eight years.    Washington lawyer in private practice, as deputy attorney general; Elena Kagan, dean of the Harvard Law School, as solicitor general; Thomas [...

Greg Stumbo Elected Speaker of the House by 3 vote margin.

Posted on January 06, 2009
Jan. 6, 2009 LawReader reported earlier this week that our sources indicated that Greg Stumbo would win the Speaker’s position in a close race. They were right on the mark.    Kentucky House Democrats elected Greg Stumbo Speaker of the House, in the most hotly contested leadership race on the first day of the legislative session...

Legislature set to reconvene?they should read what delegates to 1897 Constitutional Convention said about them

Posted on January 03, 2009
Jan. 3, 2009 As the Legislature gets ready to start a new session on Jan. 6th. we note a comment made by a Delegate to the Ky. 1897 Constitutional Convention.  This should be considered in light of the current $450 million dollar budget deficit and the fact that over the last 20 years the Legislature has granted [...

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SECRET SOURCES PREDICT SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE RACE

Posted on January 03, 2009
 By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley  –  Jan. 4, 2008 Everyone in Frankfort, of a Democratic persuasion, are scared to death to discuss the race for Speaker of the House between incumbent Speaker Jody Richards, and former Attn. General Greg Stumbo...

Madoff Ponzi Scheme bankruptcy hearing date set for Feb. 4th.

Posted on January 02, 2009
Louis A Stanton, a bankruptcy judge in New York City, has issued a stay order preventing any lawsuits being filed in the Madoff Ponzi Scheme swindle.   The Trustee appointed is Irving H. Picard. He will oversee liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC...

Gov. Beshear campaigns statewide for Cigarette Tax to Balance Budget

Posted on January 02, 2009
Gov. Steve Beshear is calling on a broad-based constituency that includes business leaders, educators, health advocates and the general public as he tries to win passage of a cigarette tax increase.   Beshear has traveled the state to convene town hall-style meetings at which he has asked the audience to call legislators and support his overall plan [...

U.S. Chief Justice Blasts Low Pay for Federal Judges

Posted on January 02, 2009
In his 2008 year-end report, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts  ? who in 2006 branded the federal judiciary?s pay freeze a ?constitutional crisis? ? made nearly the same argument. Over at WashWire, WSJ Supreme Court reporter Jess Bravin reports: . ...

Annual Report on the Federal Judiciary: Costs are Down, and Pay Needs to Go Up

Posted on January 01, 2009
Dec. 31, 2008 In his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary released at 6 p.m. today, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. praised the courts as frugal, dedicated and crucial to the life and economic recovery of the nation. But to keep the courts strong, Roberts said — as he has urged in the [...

LawReader Celebrates 10th. Anniversary ? Future Looks Bright

Posted on December 31, 2008
By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley                Jan. 1, 2009     Today LawReader observes its first decade of existence.  How far we have come during those exciting years.  An expert advised us recently, that if all the materials contained on LawReader where placed in hard bound books and placed in library stacks, that our library would cover the [...

Governor Recommends Extending CERS Phase-In to Ky. Retirement Board of Trustees

Posted on December 31, 2008
Dec.30, 2008   In a press conference this morning Governor Steve Beshear urged the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) Board of Trustees to move ahead with policy changes that would extend the phase-in period for reaching the actuarially required contribution (ARC) for employers participating in the County Employees Retirement System (CERS)...

JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN RULES CONTINUE TO CHANGE ? Ohio Judicial races given leeway for partisan ads ? ?there?s a fine line between saying. ?I commit.? and wink-wink, nudge-nudge.?

Posted on December 31, 2008
  New Rules adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court are consistent with a recent U.S. District court ruling sought by a Kentucky Judicial Candidate (Marc Carey) which allows Judicial Candidates to speak out on public issues.  Ohio Judicial Races are partisan and candidates can run as the nominee of a political party...

U.S. 9th. Circuit rules three-strikes sentence unconstitutional

Posted on December 30, 2008
  The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals says a 28-years-to-life penalty for a sex offender who failed to register at the appropriate time is cruel and unusual punishment. . By Carol J. Williams  L.A. Times  December 30, 2008 California’s three-strikes sentencing law suffered a blow Tuesday when a federal appeals court struck down as unconstitutional a [...

Are state budget cuts fueling national financial crisis? Economist calls governors ?50 Herbert Hoovers?.

Posted on December 30, 2008
Economist Paul Krugman ? The New York Times –Dec. 30, 2008   Respected economist Paul Krugman suggests that in times of recession, state governments should be spending on education and infrastructure instead of cutting expenditures.   Excerpts from his column:   ?? even as Washington tries to rescue the economy, the nation will be reeling from the actions of 50 Herbert [...

Three Year Study Provides Suggestions to Improve Civil Jury Trials

Posted on December 29, 2008
  The Bar Association of the 7th. Circuit Bar Association has conducted a study with suggestions for reformation of Civil Trial practice.  The study took three years.  In the process they reviewed 50 civil trials and tested seven new concepts of jury strategy...

Sixth Circuit Ct. of Appeals Partisanship rewards Prosecutorial Misconduct.

Posted on December 29, 2008
 By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley  The Law is full of doctrines.  Doctrines are useful tools in resolving issues of law.  However, we believe it is apparent that some appellate judges are bringing to the bench doctrinaire philosophies that have little to do with a search for real justice...

Will Parks be Closed if the Governor?s Cigarette Tax Fails? See which Senators will be the most affected by Parks Department cuts. ? Should the State Police be eliminated, Should the Parks system by sold off?

Posted on December 26, 2008
 By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley            Dec. 26, 2008  Where to cut the state budget?   Some unpleasant decisions will have to be made if the Governor?s budget amendment plan is not adopted by the General Assembly in 2009.The large Kentucky state budget deficit ($456 million) projected by the Governor?s Office will mandate some drastic cuts if [...

State Budget Crisis Results in Steep Cuts to Legal Aid Programs ?While the demand for civil legal services for the poor is growing, funding drops

Posted on December 25, 2008
  December 25, 2008   Legal Aid of the Bluegrass , the nonprofit group that provides emergency civil legal help to the poor across Northern and Central Kentucky may have to turn the indigent away to make up for a cut in state funding. Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, which serves 33 counties...

Law Professor Jonathan Turley says Bush Administration Officials Should be Held to Account for Torture ? Warrantless Spying on Citizens

Posted on December 24, 2008
  December 23, 2008  - BLT ? Legal Times Blog Q&A: Jonathan Turley on Holding Bush and Cheney Accountable George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley is a leading constitutional scholar and commentator who has served as counsel for several defendants in terrorism and national security cases in recent years...

6th. Circuit sets aside Ky. law restricing online sales of wine

Posted on December 24, 2008
Dec. 24, 2008   The 6th. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Kentucky must allow small out-of-state wineries to ship their wares into the state even if a customer buys the wines online or over the phone.   The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling upholds an earlier decision that struck down Kentucky’s law prohibiting wine shipments [...

Law Professor: Bush v. Gore Set to Outlast Its Beneficiary ? Case cited in Cincinnati Ruling

Posted on December 23, 2008
  ADAM LIPTAK    December 22, 2008   The Supreme Court?s decision in Bush v. Gore, issued eight years ago this month, was widely understood to work like that tape recorder in ?Mission: Impossible.? It was meant to produce a president and then self-destruct...

FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT RULING HAS INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS ? Kentucky?s scheme to seize internet domain name raising eyebrows on world wide web

Posted on December 22, 2008
    A Kentucky Court Approves the Seizure of Out-of-State Companies? Domain Names: A Dangerous Precedent that May Chill Free Speech and Impede Global Internet Communications   By ANITA RAMASASTRY             Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 Does a government or court have the right to seize a domain name when a website’s activities are illegal where the government or court sits, [...

Buyer?s Remorse Prompts Appellate Court Decision ? Right to Rescind Condo Purchase limited

Posted on December 22, 2008
MIAMI, Dec. 22 , 2008 - Property values reached an all time low this year compelling many condo speculators to back out of contracts in order to minimize their losses. Cases surfaced where plaintiffs sought to rescind their sales contracts, accusing developers of failure to comply with certain disclosure requirements mandated by the Interstate Land Sales [...

Beaver?s Mother Barbara Billingsley turns 93 ? See how she is related to LawReader?s Editor Stan Billingsley

Posted on December 22, 2008
Dec. 22, 2008 Barbara Billingsley celebrates her 93rd. birthday Dec. 22, 2008.  Actress Barbara Billingsley (born December 22, 1915) is an American film, television and character actress, who in her five decades of television came to prominence in the 1950s as an everyday mother, June Cleaver, on Leave it to Beaver, and its sequel, Still the Beaver [...

?Bare Bones? does not mean No Bones!! A closing argument may be used to ?Flesh Out? the instructions. But as currently applied in the courts, the Bare Bones rule is ALL BONE AND NO FLESH.

Posted on December 21, 2008
  By Judge Stan Billingsley (Ret.)   Justice Palmore is credited with creating the Ky. Bare Bones rule for jury instructions in Cox v. Cooper, 510 S.W.2d 530 (Ky., 1974) when he said:   ?Instructions] should not contain an abundance of detail, but should provide only the bare bones of the question for jury determination...

Ky. Sup. Ct. rules on: LEARNED TREATISES VS. JUDICIAL NOTICE ? also adjudicative facts-dictionary definition

Posted on December 21, 2008
  The following discussion concerns the difference between admission of evidence under the Learned Treatise rule versus admission under the Hearsay exception under the Judicial Notice rule.  Also discussion are ?adjudicative fact? and the rules for ?Judicial Notice of a Law...

See List of Wall Street?s Ponzi scheme victims who were swindled by Bernard Madoff

Posted on December 20, 2008
The fallout from Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme reverberated around the world as the list of investors facing losses widened. Among the biggest losers were charities, hedge funds, and banks in Europe and Asia. Below, see some of the most exposed investors and sort by the amount of potential losses...

Court of Appeals issues 23 important decisions this week - Ky. Supreme Court issues 14 decisions this week - See topics discussed.

Posted on December 20, 2008
  LawReader subscribers can access these cases with keywords, synopsis and links to the   full text at COURT OF APPEALS DECISIONS FOR DEC. 19, 2008  –   or         KY. SUPREME COURT DECISIONS FOR DECEMBER, 2008                       Non-subscribers can sign up for LawReader by going to SIGN UP - PRICING                                    Topics discussed this week include:   SUPREME COURT - worker?s compensation ? timely [...

Jon Draud , Education Administrator who has been ill recently has resigned.

Posted on December 19, 2008
FRANKFORT, Ky. ?Gov. Beshear issued the following statement: ?I want to thank Jon Draud for his distinguished career and longstanding commitment to public service in Kentucky, particularly our children. I also wish to extend to Jon my best wishes for his continued and full recovery...

Some Judges Delay Swearing-In Of New Citizens, Report Says

Posted on December 18, 2008
    By Spencer S. Hsu  Washington Post  Thursday, December 18, 2008 Federal judges in some parts of the United States have delayed the swearing-in of new citizens, keeping millions of dollars in fees that would otherwise go to immigration officials if they were allowed to administer the oaths instead, according to a new government report and [...

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