Kentucky Court of Justice
Supreme Court justice, Court of Appeals judges and circuit judge to visit Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton and Hickman counties on annual River Counties Tour

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Supreme Court justice, Court of Appeals judges and circuit judge who serve Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton and Hickman counties will make a River Counties Tour on Monday, Jan. 31, to meet with local officials. Justice Bill Cunningham, Court of Appeals Judges Donna L. Dixon and Christopher Shea Nickell and Circuit Court Judge Timothy A. Langford will travel to the four counties.

“Judge Langford and I have made the River Counties Tour an annual trip for several years now,” Justice Cunningham said. “The Mississippi River counties are the most distant counties in the state from Frankfort and they are special to me.

“For people to have respect for the courts, they need to understand the courts. The best way for them to understand their courts is to know their judges and meet with them personally. We want to bring the judiciary to them.”

Judge Nickell participated in the tour last year for the first time. This will be Judge Dixon’s first tour with the group.

The justice and judges will also visit with students at Hickman County High School as part of their tour. Nelson D. “Corky” Hill, a former Fulton County sheriff, will join them in speaking to the students. Hill, who lost his left arm in a gun accident at 12 years old, will discuss gun safety and how he didn’t let his physical disability keep him from playing high school basketball or otherwise limit him. Hill is now a commonwealth’s detective for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney that serves the four-county area. Seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students and the high school mock trial team will participate in the meeting and have the opportunity to ask questions. Justice Cunningham and Judge Langford previously visited Ballard County High School, Carlisle County High School and Fulton County High School on the tour. Hill accompanied them last year for the first time.

Justice Cunningham has served as a Supreme Court justice since January 2007 and represents the First Supreme Court District. Judge Dixon has been a Court of Appeals judge since July 2006 and Judge Nickell has served since January 2007. They represent the First Appellate District. Judge Langford has served as the Circuit Court judge for Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton and Hickman counties since November 2006. 

First Supreme Court District/First Appellate District
The First Supreme Court District and the First Appellate District are comprised of Allen, Ballard, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Simpson, Todd, Trigg and Webster counties.

Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm for the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,600 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.