Kentucky

Former Chief Justice Lambert sends a message to prosecutors about the continued use of the ?send a message? argument.

Posted on February 06, 2009
 Senior Judge Joseph Lambert sitting on the Court of Appeals sent a direct warning to prosecutors who continue to flirt with the ?send a message? argument to jurors.  In his concurring opinion comments he said: ?Kentucky prosecutors should be aware that their use of ?send a message? arguments exposes the conviction obtained to a substantial risk of [...

Justice Ruth Ginsburg has Surgery for Cancer.

Posted on February 05, 2009
The Supreme Court released a statement that Justice Bader Ginsburg is hospitalized for surgery for pancreatic cancer tumor, February 5, 2009, and is expected to remain in the hospital for seven to ten days. This has been confirmed by several news outlets, including the Associated Press and NBC News...

Who might replace Justice Ginsburg?

Posted on February 05, 2009
Word of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s illness on Thursday, just two weeks after Obama’s inauguration, set off an inevitable round of speculation about whether she will have to retire sooner than she would wish ? and whom Obama might tap as her successor...

Kentucky Bar Association to present ?Rule of Law? Symposium. Bradford Hall at KSU -Friday

Posted on February 03, 2009
   The Kentucky Bar Association, with the support of Kentucky State University, will sponsor an engaging examination of the ?Rule of Law? beginning this Friday, February 6, at 9:30 a.m. in Bradford Hall on the KSU campus in Frankfort.   WHO:    Featured speakers include Chief Justice John D...

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Ky. Department of Revenue Extends Deadline for Paying of Quarterly Taxes

Posted on February 03, 2009
 Monday, February 02, 2009                                  FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 2, 2009) ? Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller announced today that the Kentucky Department of Revenue has extended by two weeks the deadline for filing the K-2s and K-3s that would be due today, February 2, 2009...

Supreme Court allows pat down search of passengers?

Posted on February 01, 2009
By Ruby Gonzales, Whitter Daily News   01/31/2009 The Supreme Court ruled that police can search passengers of a car pulled over if they suspect the person is armed and dangerous. Officers can frisk a car’s occupants even if they haven’t committed a crime...

High Court says cops can pat down passengers in traffic stops

Posted on February 01, 2009
By Ruby Gonzales, Whitter Daily News   01/31/2009 The Supreme Court ruled that police can search passengers of a car pulled over if they suspect the person is armed and dangerous. Officers can frisk a car’s occupants even if they haven’t committed a crime...

Governor Beshear orders unprecedented total callup of Kentucky National Guard

Posted on January 31, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009    FRANKFORT, KY. ? Governor Steve Beshear today directed Kentucky’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, to order the unprecedented activation of all Kentucky Army National Guard units, along with selected portions of the Kentucky Air National Guard...

The Exclusionary Rule is being eliminated and nothing is being offered as a replacement for prosecutorial or police misconduct.

Posted on January 31, 2009
Editorial by LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley     Jan. 30, 2009  A LawReader study reveals that prosecutorial misconduct is rarely sanctioned orpunished in Kentucky.   While the appellate courts frequently consider the issue, and often find that in fact the prosecutor did violate a rule or practice, the error is overlooked due to an increasingly broad interpretation of [...

Law firms consider getting rid of ?billable hours? fee system

Posted on January 31, 2009
Law firms will have to overhaul compensation structures to bill for ?something other than taking a long time to do something?.   Law Firms are running out of hours they can bill.  Are lawyers really working 12 hours a day every weekday of the year? ooooLinkedin oDigg   JONATHAN D...

Pulaski County to break ground for new Judicial Center FEb. 2nd.

Posted on January 30, 2009
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The public is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Pulaski County Judicial Center on Monday, Feb. 2, at 1:30 p.m. The event will take place at the construction site at 52 Public Square in downtown Somerset. The Kentucky General Assembly authorized the Pulaski County project in 2005 and approved its funding [...

Judge rules that men who didn?t register for draft can hold federal jobs

Posted on January 27, 2009
January 27, 2009    By Jonathan Saltzman,  Boston Globe Staff A federal judge in Boston has declared unconstitutional a 1985 law by Congress that bars people from most federal employment if they knowingly failed to register for the draft. US District Court Judge Douglas P...

Man Attacks His Lawyer In Court With Feces ? He never saw it coming.

Posted on January 27, 2009
10news.com January 27, 2009    SAN DIEGO — A mistrial was declared Monday when a home-invasion robbery suspect smeared human feces on his attorney’s face then threw more at the jury.  Weusi McGowan, 37, was upset because San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser refused to remove Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jeffrey Martin from the case, prosecutor Christopher [...

U.S. Supreme Court upholds pat down search merely on belief suspect is armed and dangerous

Posted on January 26, 2009
? Arizona v. Johnson (pdf), a win for police on the Fourth Amendment issue of whether a pat-down search is permissible when the officer has reason to believe a suspect is armed and dangerous, but no cause to believe a crime has been or is being committed    ARIZONA v...

Supreme Court Upholds Prosecutorial Immunity for Official Actions

Posted on January 26, 2009
? Van de Kamp v. Goldstein (pdf), a strong endorsement of prosecutorial immunity from liability for official actions. Cite as: 555 U. S. ____ (2009)    Syllabus VAN DE KAMP ET AL. v. GOLDSTEIN CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No...

U.S. Supreme Court protects employees who report sexual discrimination claims under Title VII retaliation rules

Posted on January 26, 2009
Jan. 26, 2009  Employees who cooperate with an internal investigation of sexual harassment are protected from retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Supreme Court held Monday.  The case?see: Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Cty...

Livingston, Carlisle and Trigg Counties will open new courthouses in the next 18 months.

Posted on January 25, 2009
The new $6.8 million Livingston County Justice Center is expected to open Feb. 2 to replace a facility built in 1845, one of the oldest in the state. The $10.5 million Trigg County Judicial Center is expected to open in June after two years of construction on the site of the demolished old courthouse...

Proposed Video Lottery Terminals may not generate the same revenue as real Slot Machines

Posted on January 25, 2009
  By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley House Speaker Greg Stumbo has introduced House Bill 158 to allow video terminal gambling at state race tracks.  These may not be as popular as real slot machines. Representative Arnold Simpson of Covington has suggested that the provision of this bill to limit their placement only at race tracks is [...

Kentucky Court of Appeals issues 24 important decisions on Jan. 23.

Posted on January 24, 2009
LawReader subscribers may view these decisions with synopsis at: COURT OF APPEALS DECISIONS FOR JAN. 23, 2009   - Non-subscribers may sign up at:  SIGN UP - PRICING IMPORTANT TOPICS COVERED THIS WEEK.  TECHNICAL FORM OF PLEADINGS NOT REQUIRED-IF PLEADING INCOMPLETE MOTION FOR MORE DEFINITE STATEMENT POSSIBLE-PUBLIC OFFICIAL QUALIFIED IMMUNITY- WORKER?S COMPENSATION ?DISABILITY BENEFITS ?ALJ NOT BOUNDY BY SOCIAL [...

Popular Louisville attorney Margaret ?Maggie? Keane, has won election as Vice-President of the Kentucky Bar Association.

Posted on January 23, 2009
Results certified this week show that Keane beat Manchester lawyer Scott Madden in the race for vice president by a vote of 2,400 to 2,084.  The election places Keane in line to be the next President of the KBA. Madden an attorney from Manchester, Kentucky, made an impressive run for the office considering the advantage shared [...

COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE SARA COMBS SLAMS ATTORNEYS FOR UNPROFESSIONAL COMMENTS IN APPELLATE BRIEFS

Posted on January 23, 2009
Jan. 23, 2009 The Court of Appeals in a Madison County case  (Joshua Spivey v. Commonwealth) sent a warning about unprofessional and inappropriate language in appellate briefs submitted in the  case.  The appellate decision was issued on Jan. 23, 2009...

Ky. Supreme Court releases 36 important decisions for January.

Posted on January 22, 2009
  If you aren?t staying current in Kentucky appellate court rulings you will quickly fall behind on the state of the law.   Members may access these cases at: KY. SUPREME COURT DECISIONS FOR JANUARY 22, 2009    Non-members may sign up and access all decisions and synopsis go to: SIGN UP - PRICING 

Ky. Ct. of Appeals Overrules Seizure of Internet Gambling Domains

Posted on January 21, 2009
Details have emerged on the ruling handed down late Tuesday by the Kentucky Court of Appeals which overturned a decision by the Franklin Circuit Court to seize and possibly confiscate 141 online gambling domains belonging to owners throughout the world...

Supreme Court lets the Child Online Porn Protection Act die quietly.

Posted on January 21, 2009
 A 13-year legal drive to shield children from pornography on the Internet ended in defeat today when the Supreme Court let the Child Online Protection Act die quietly. The measure, which never went into effect, made it a crime to put sexually explicit material on a website for commercial gain unless the sponsor used some means, [...

Supreme Court rules Saucier Government Offiical qualified immunity test not mandatory in every case

Posted on January 21, 2009
Jan. 21, 2009 The US Supreme Court Wednesday ruled unanimously in Pearson v. Callahan that the test for whether a government official is entitled to qualified immunity, established by the Court in 2001 in Saucier v. Katz, is no longer mandatory in every case...

Supreme Court Sides With Student in Sex-Bias Case ? Title IX does not bar Section 1983 claims

Posted on January 21, 2009
  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday Jan. 21, 2009 that Title IX does not bar victims of sex discrimination in schools from pursuing claims under an older federal civil rights law.   The decision is a victory for the parents of a Massachusetts student who claimed that school officials failed to adequately respond to sexual [...

Failure to report to jail is not violent crime

Posted on January 20, 2009
by David Ziemer  Wisconsin Law Journal January 19, 2009 A mere failure to report to jail is not a  ?violent felony? under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), according to the nation?s highest court.   The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 unanimously held that the 15-year minimum for defendants convicted of felon in possession of a [...

The Inauguration- A Celebration of Democracy ? We wish that Bert Combs and Ned Breathitt could have been here?.

Posted on January 20, 2009
By Stan Billingsley Jan. 20, 2009 Today we celebrate a rite of Democracy, the peaceful exchange of national leadership. All Americans can take pride in this event.   We do have one regret however, and that is that Gov. Bert Combs and Gov. Edward T. ?Ned? Breathitt were not here to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama...

Chief Justice Roberts Messes Up Presidential Oath?

Posted on January 20, 2009
  WASHINGTON  ? Barack Obama took the 35-word oath of office Tuesday to become the United States’ 44th president — even if he may have been led to utter the historic words in the wrong order.Obama was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, resting his left hand on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible and raising [...

Rev. Martin Luther King?s ?I have a dream? speech remembered

Posted on January 19, 2009
Today we remember the great speech given by Rev. Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Tomorrow, 45 years after this speech, we celebrate an event that suggests many of the dreams of Dr. King have been achieved. Dr. Martin Luther King: Five score years ago, a great American, in whose [...

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