Kentucky

Two Lexington Police officers have filed an unusual civil lawsuit. They have apparently overlooked the Kentucky ?Firemans rule? which applies to Police Officers

Posted on January 18, 2009
Officer Randall Combs claims in his lawsuit that he injured his shoulder, and Officer Derrick Wallace says he dislocated his thumb in a scuffle with Daniel Lee Billings on Dec. 20. 2007. Wallace and Combs were two of several officers dispatched to break up an unruly holiday party at the Crowne Plaza-Campbell House in Lexington...

U.S. Supreme Court to Review Strip-Searches of Students

Posted on January 18, 2009
  The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the strip-search of a middle school student by school officials looking for over-the-counter and prescription drugs.   The strip-search case has attracted attention in education law circles.   In July, the 9th Circuit court ruled that a strip-search of an 8th grader by school authorities looking for prescription-strength Ibuprofen [...

U.S. Supreme Court to Weigh IDEA and tuition for private schooling of special education students

Posted on January 18, 2009
  The U.S. Supreme Court this week agreed to hear an important case involving special education. In this special education case, the justices will return to an issue they deadlocked over in their last term: whether parents in a special education dispute with a school district may be reimbursed for ?unilaterally? placing their child in a [...

Ct. of Appeals issues 45 important cases. Nine rulings involving Family Court continues trend of reversals and remands.

Posted on January 17, 2009
The Kentucky Court of Appeals issued an unusual number of cases involving Family Courts this week, and most of them were remands and reversals. This negative review of Family Court rulings continues a trend we have noticed for a number of months. If you practice in this area of the law, you should be aware of [...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CALLS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION POLICES ON CIA AGENT DISCLOSURE-U.S. ATTORNEY FIRINGS AND OTHER ISSUES ? see 486 page report

Posted on January 14, 2009
  House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers issued a report Tuesday documenting what he says are extraordinary claims of executive power during President George W. Bush?s eight years in office. Conyers said disturbing evidence his committee has gathered begs for an independent criminal investigation into controversial and possibly illegal policies sanctioned by the White House, including [...

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Three Cases Re: Defendant?s Rights

Posted on January 14, 2009
   January 13, 2009   The U.S. Supreme Court heard three arguments on Tuesday, all concerning what criminal defendants can expect from their lawyers.   The first and liveliest considered a decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Montejo v. Louisiana, No...

U.S. Supreme Court Justices by 5-4 vote, say Search conducted on basis of false report about an outstanding warrant is valid

Posted on January 14, 2009
Exclusionary Rule and requirement for Probable Cause for Search take another hit.   Evidence Obtained don Is Valid Despite Police Error   ?When police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, the exclusionary rule does not apply...

U.S. Supreme Court uphold Ky. Retirement System re: calculation of benefits

Posted on January 14, 2009
       SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES                                                Cite as: 554 U. S. ____ (2008)                                                 Syllabus   KENTUCKY RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET AL. v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION   CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT   No...

Special Election called for Bowling Green state senate seat.

Posted on January 13, 2009
Tuesday, State Senate President David Williams called for the Special Election to be held on Tuesday, February 10, to fill the vacancy in the 32nd Senate District, as result of the election of former Senator Brett Gutherie to Congress in the 2nd District...

How to apply for an appointment to a Kentucky Board or Commission

Posted on January 13, 2009
  Want to be considered for a Gubernatorial appointment to a Board or Commission?   You can visit the state web site which provides the application forms and a list of the Boards and Commissions to which appointments are made.   To access this web site go to:  http://www...

Trial lawyers group ask Obama to stay Bush rules which will limit product liability claims

Posted on January 13, 2009
By Chris Rizo  Madison St. Clair Record -   Jan. 12, 2009 WASHINGTON - A leading national group of trial lawyers Monday called on President-elect Barack Obama to repeal a bevy of regulations that limit corporate liability. The American Association for Justice said the regulations backed by the Bush administration fetter individuals’ access to the courts...

CLEMENCY WEEK IS UPON US?.WHO WILL BUSH PARDON?

Posted on January 13, 2009
President Bush has until 1:00 P.M. Tuesday Jan. 20th, to issue pardons and grant immunity. Some 23 Bush administration officials have received advice that they should be careful about traveling in most European countries due to the possibility they could be arrested for violation of the Geneva Convention...

U.S. Justice Dept. is looking for lawyers.

Posted on January 13, 2009
The Justice Dept. has vacancies for lawyers.   If you wish to be considered for a position as a lawyer for the Justice Department you should check out their web site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html All Department organizations advertise their vacancies for experienced attorneys on this web site...

US Supreme Court Asks DOJ To Weigh In On Cablevision?s New DVR

Posted on January 12, 2009
January 12, 2009 In an important case for the entertainment industry, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Justice Department Monday to weigh in on whether the court should consider a legal challenge to a next-generation digital video recorder planned by Cablevision Systems Corp...

What to do with Rodger? The law regarding cremains.

Posted on January 12, 2009
What to do with Rodger?  The law regarding cremains.   By Stan Billingsley                                                                     Jan. 12, 2009 This week I received a package that I mistook for a belated Christmas gift.  My wife carried the package into my office and said here?s something ?from your nephew Pat?...

Justice Dept. Issues Opinion: Lawyer Incompetence in Immigration Hearings No Bar to Deportation

Posted on January 12, 2009
   Ineffective assistance of counsel in an immigration proceeding is no longer a valid defense to deportation, reports The New York Times. An opinion released Wednesday by Attorney General Michael Mukasey holds that ?neither the Constitution nor any statutory or regulatory provision entitles an alien to a do-over if his initial removal proceeding is prejudiced by [...

Amazing way to find specific word in long document..try this and you?ll love it.

Posted on January 12, 2009
Have you ever been confronted with a long document ?say 80 pages long?and you want to find the reference in the document to a specific term or name such as  ?immunity??  Well our friends at Microsoft have anticipated the utility of a tool that allows you to apply a mini-search engine to a long document, [...

Speedy trial issue lands before US Supreme Court. Delay caused by Public Defender to be reviewed.

Posted on January 11, 2009
A Vermont court threw out the conviction of Michael Brillion and freed him from prison last spring, saying his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial had been violated. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up  a case this week, trying to decide if delays caused by public defenders can deprive a criminal defendant of [...

Gov. Beshear Announces Expansion of Ethics Measures

Posted on January 11, 2009
FRANKFORT, Ky. ? Gov. Steve Beshear today announced an expansion of ethics measures in his administration that goes beyond what the law requires to promote greater transparency and openness to the taxpayers of the commonwealth. ?My administration has already adopted some of the toughest executive branch ethics reforms in the country,? Gov...

This week?s schedule for Legislative Comm. meetings

Posted on January 10, 2009
Kentucky General Assembly    Weekly Legislative Calendar January 12 - 16, 2009  Monday, January 12, 2009    No Meetings Scheduled    Tuesday, January 13, 2009    10:00am, Annex Room 149 ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE Members: Rep. Robert R...

Shelby County Family Judge victimized by YouTube video postings by angry litigant

Posted on January 10, 2009
A Shelby County pro se litigant who is angry with Shelby Family Court Judge John D. Myles rulings, has posted numerous videos on the video web site youtube.com which attempts to criticize the judge. The attempt is to try to make the Judge look bad, but the result misses the mark...

Bipartisan Support for Bill to Expand Programs that Divert Drug Offenders from Prison Sentence

Posted on January 09, 2009
FRANKFORT ? A legislative committee Thursday approved a bill that would expand programs that divert drug offenders out of the state?s overcrowded prisons. The bill would allow for pretrial officers to screen people for drug addiction and then make recommendations on what type of treatment they should receive...

Want to attend an inauguration party next week in Washington D.C.? Here?s how.

Posted on January 09, 2009
Want to attend an inauguration party next week in Washington D.C.?  You can attend a Kentucky-themed pre-inaugural ball in the nation’s capital for $353.50 ? or take along nine friends for an even $4,000. The Bluegrass Ball is a Jan. 19 black-tie event sponsored by the Kentucky Society, which has decided to make tickets available to the [...

?Kentucky?s Open Door? web site provides online access to how tax dollars are spent

Posted on January 09, 2009
 FRANKFORT, Ky. ? On Jan. 1, 2009, Kentucky started the New Year with a Web site that provides citizens access to all state expenditures and other vital information about state-funded programs. The new Web site?s address is www.opendoor.ky.gov. ?In today?s difficult economic times, it is even more important for government to be transparent and accountable, and [...

Are the Polar Ice Caps Really Melting? New satellite will answer this hotly debated question.

Posted on January 08, 2009
European Space Agency will launch a satellite in 2009 to see if the earth?s ice caps are really melting.    ESA’s ice mission CryoSat-2   The question of whether global climate change is causing the polar ice caps to shrink is one of the most hotly debated environmental issues we currently face...

School Consolidation could improve education and save tax dollars.

Posted on January 08, 2009
    A recent article concerning a survey of voter attitudes in Indiana regarding school consolidation was brought to LawReader?s attention by Circuit Judge Jack Seay of Bardstown.  This article demonstrates how the effort to provide a first rate education takes second place to the desire to maintain a local identity...

Conservative 4th. Circuit Ct. of Appeals Court strikes down federal sex offender law.

Posted on January 08, 2009
  RICHMOND, Va.  ? Congress overstepped its authority when it enacted a law allowing the federal government to hold sex offenders in custody indefinitely beyond the end of their prison terms, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.   The law allowing civil commitment of “sexually dangerous” federal inmates intrudes on police powers that the Constitution reserves for states, [...

State Official May Own Real Estate with others. Governors Chief Aide, Adam Edelen is clean on this issue.

Posted on January 07, 2009
  By LawReader Senior Editor Stan Billingsley                     Jan. 7, 2009   In the field of ethics applicable to Executive Branch officials the law requires that a financial report be made disclosing some but not all business relationships and investments...

STUDY CONFIRMS LONG-HELD SUSPICION THAT WHEN LOCAL BUDGETS GET TIGHT, COPS WRITE MORE TRAFFIC TICKETS

Posted on January 07, 2009
go to: Study confirms long-held suspicion that when local budgets get tight, cops write more traffic tickets

What?s next in the Minnesota Election contest between Al Franken and Norm Coleman?

Posted on January 07, 2009
 Here?s the Minnesota  state law. The state Supreme Court chief justice will now appoint three judges. It?s unclear if Chief Justice Eric Magnuson will take this action because he was a member of the canvassing board. He may or may not. His duties on the board are completed...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.