Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear arguments May 24-25 in Frankfort in cases from Northern Kentucky and Fayette, Franklin and Marion counties
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will convene Tuesday and Wednesday, May 24-25, in Frankfort to hear oral arguments in civil case appeals from Northern Kentucky and Franklin and Marion counties and a criminal case appeal from Fayette County. Proceedings will begin at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday and 10:15 a.m. EDT Wednesday in the Court of Appeals Courtroom at 360 Democrat Drive. Proceedings are open to the public.
Among the three Northern Kentucky appeals is that of Lacy Nicole Burden, who is disputing Kenton County Circuit Court’s dismissal of her claims against two Independence police officers. She alleged that the officers wrongfully arrested her for possession of marijuana in 2007 and then prepared a fraudulent lab report to support the arrest. The officers arrested Burden in the parking lot of Simon Kenton High School, where she was a student at the time. The charge was later dropped.
The court will also hear the appeal of Sandra Messerly, who is challenging Boone County Circuit Court’s ruling in her product liability/wrongful death case against Nissan North America. Messerly’s 19-month-old son was killed in 2004 after being struck by the family’s Nissan sports-utility vehicle.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jeff S. Taylor and Court of Appeals Judges Michael Caperton and Thomas B. Wine will hear arguments in all the cases.
FRANKFORT DOCKET (All times EDT)
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011
1 PM 2010-CA-001235
LACY NICOLE BURDEN v MARK HAMPTON ET AL.
Summary: Civil. The appellant, Lacy Nicole Burden, appeals the trial court’s summary judgment that dismissed her claims against the appellees, who were Independence police officers. Her claims included fraud, forgery, malicious prosecution, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, unreasonable search and seizure, and fabrication of evidence.
Kenton County judge who presided in the case – Judge Patricia M. Summe
Appellant’s attorney: Eric Deters
Appellees’ attorneys: Jeffrey Mando and Philip Taliaferro III
1:45 PM
2010-CA-000693
KENTUCKY STATE BOARD OF LICENSURE (FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS) v JOSEPH B. CURD JR.
2010-CA-000730 (Cross-appeal)
JOSEPH B. CURD JR. v KENTUCKY STATE BOARD OF LICENSURE (FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS)
Summary: Civil. The trial court declared the statutes governing land surveying unconstitutionally vague as applied in this case.
Franklin County judge who presided in the case – Judge Thomas D. Wingate
Appellant’s attorney: Jonathan Buckley
Appellee’s attorneys: Robert Bullock and Earl Rogers III
2:30 PM 2010-CA-000717
SANDRA DENISE MESSERLY ET AL. v NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC., ET AL.
Summary: Civil. The appellant in this Boone County case appeals the trial court’s summary judgment in this product liability/wrongful death case.
Judge who presided in the case – Senior Judge Robert W. McGinnis
Appellant’s attorneys: Wesley Nakajima, Justin Sanders, Robert Sanders and Eric Von Wiegen
Appellee’s attorneys: Anne Guillory and David Schaefer
(To see all parties in this case, look up case 2010-CA-00717 – Court of Appeals cases.)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
10:15 AM 2010-CA-000734
DARRELL WAYNE SALLEE v JANE CAROL SALLEE
Summary: Civil. At issue in this appeal is whether the Circuit Court erred by denying the appellant maintenance and by awarding certain marital property to the appellee.
Marion County judge who presided in the case – Judge Dan Kelly
Appellant’s attorney: Elmer George
Appellee’s attorney: Susan McCain
11 AM 2010-CA-001579
DANNY LEE OUSLEY v COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Summary: Criminal. At issue in this appeal is whether the Circuit Court erred by denying the appellant’s motion to suppress evidence.
Fayette County judge who presided in the case – Judge James D. Ishmael
Appellant’s attorney: Louis Rom
Appellee’s attorney: David Barr
11:45 AM
2010-CA-001355
BILLY BOOTH (ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED) v UTILI-COMM SOUTH, INC.
Summary: Civil. At issue is whether the Circuit Court erred by dismissing the appellant’s cause of action brought under KRS 342.420.
Kenton County judge who presided in the case – Judge Martin J. Sheehan
Appellant’s attorneys: Thomas Hicks, Robert Sparks and Justin Whittaker
Appellee’s attorney: Katharine Weber
COURT OF APPEALS PANEL
Chief Judge Jeff S. Taylor
Judge Taylor is chief judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He assumed the role in July 2010 after his colleagues on the court elected him to the position. The chief judge provides administrative oversight to the Court of Appeals.
Judge Taylor was first elected as a Court of Appeals judge in November 2003 to represent the 2nd Appellate District, which is comprised of Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, LaRue, Meade, Ohio, Union and Warren counties. He was re-elected in November 2006 to a full eight-year term.
He previously practiced law in Owensboro for more than 20 years and was a sole practitioner from 1990 until his election to the Court of Appeals.
Judge Taylor has a Bachelor of Science degree from Murray State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Memphis State University. He earned his law degree from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, graduating with honors in 1982. He is a 1971 graduate of Elizabethtown High School.
He serves on the Kentucky Bar Foundation Board of Directors and on the board of directors for the Daviess County Public Schools Foundation. He served on the Murray State University Board of Regents from September 2006 to September 2009.
He is a past president of the Kentucky chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is also past president of the Daviess County Bar Association, Daviess County Public Defender Corp. and the Daviess County Lawyer Referral Service. He is a member of the American, Kentucky and Daviess County bar associations.
Judge Taylor is a Life Fellow in the Kentucky Bar Foundation and a member of the Brandeis Honor Society at the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.
Judge Taylor is a member of the Owensboro-Daviess County Chamber of Commerce, is past president of the Owensboro Kiwanis Club and serves on the Girls Inc. Board of Trustees. He is a former board member of the Owensboro-Daviess County Committee on Aging. He has been a frequent United Way volunteer and has been a volunteer for the Salvation Army and Boy Scouts Law Explorers.
Judge Taylor was born in Fort Knox and raised in Daviess County.
Judge Michael Caperton
Judge Michael Caperton was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Nov. 6, 2007, and represents Division 1 of the 3rd Appellate District. The 3rd Appellate District is comprised of Adair, Bell, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Estill, Garrard, Green, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Lincoln, Marion, McCreary, Metcalfe, Monroe, Nelson, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Taylor, Washington, Wayne and Whitley counties.
Prior to his election to the Court of Appeals, Judge Caperton served 14 years as a District Court judge for the 27th Judicial District, which consists of Knox and Laurel counties. He was elected district judge in 1994 and served until he was sworn in as Court of Appeals judge in December 2007.
Judge Caperton is a native of Laurel County, where he has resided most of his life. After graduating from Transylvania University in 1977, Judge Caperton earned a teaching certificate from Cumberland College in biology and chemistry. He received his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1987.
Judge Thomas B. Wine
Judge Thomas B. Wine was appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in August 2006 to serve Division 1 of the 4th Appellate District, which consists of Jefferson County. He was subsequently elected to the Court of Appeals in November 2006.
Judge Wine was elected to the Circuit Court bench in November 1991 and re-elected in 1999. He served as chief judge of Jefferson Circuit Court in 2000 and 2001 and as president of the Louis D. Brandeis American Inns of Court in 2002 and 2003. He was in private practice from 1990 until he assumed the duties of circuit judge.
Before embarking on his judicial career, Judge Wine worked in the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County from 1979 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1990. He worked in the Office of the Attorney General in Frankfort from 1984 to 1988.
Judge Wine was born in Louisville. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in 1977 and a juris doctor in 1980.
Kentucky Court of Appeals
Nearly all cases heard by the Kentucky Court of Appeals come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in Circuit Court or District Court and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court’s decision. Some cases, such as criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. Cases are not retried in the Court of Appeals. Only the record of the original court trial is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision.
Fourteen judges, two elected from seven appellate court districts, serve on the Court of Appeals. The judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority determining the decision. The panels do not sit permanently in one location, but travel throughout the state to hear cases.
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 3,300 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.