Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear cases from Barren, Carlisle and Union counties Dec. 1 in Bowling Green

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will convene Thursday, Dec. 1, in Bowling Green to hear arguments in civil cases on appeal from Barren and Carlisle counties and a criminal case from Union County. Proceedings are open to the public and will begin at 1:45 p.m. CST in Circuit Courtroom C on the fourth floor of the Warren County Judicial Center. The judicial center is located at 1001 Center St.

The civil cases involve a former state trooper who is appealing the decision in his liability suit against a former Barren County sheriff and deputy sheriff and a Carlisle County rural electric cooperative that is challenging a ruling naming the city as the rightful utility provider for the local courthouse. In the criminal case, a former Union County High School substitute teacher and soccer coach is appealing his conviction for sexual abuse of a juvenile.

A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Judges Joy A. Moore, Janet L. Stumbo and Thomas B. Wine will hear oral arguments in the cases.

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.

BOWLING GREEN DOCKET

To see more information on a case, such as the Court of Appeals step sheet for the case, input the case number on the Court of Appeals cases page – Court of Appeals cases.

THURSDAY, DEC. 1, 2011

1:45 PM     2010-CA-001511   
                    JASON H. CROSS ET AL. v LELAND E. COX ET AL.

Summary: Civil. Judge Moore will preside. This is an appeal of the summary judgment granted in a tort action involving a sheriff and deputy sheriff (positions at the time of the original case). At issue is immunity for the sheriff and deputy sheriff. Also at issue is whether the trial court erred in denying a motion to amend the complaint.

Judge who presided in the case – Senior Judge Thomas O. Castlen

Appellants’ attorneys: Keith Duerr and Lee Huddleston for Cross, Christopher A. Spradlin and Mitzi R. Cross (the other appellants in the case)

Appellees’ attorneys: Marc Lovell for Cox, Barney Jones, Barney Jones as the Barren County sheriff, Gulf Insurance Co. and insurance carriers for Barney Jones and Cox (the other appellees in the case).

2:30 PM     2010-CA-001274
                    ARNOLD DAVIS SPRAGUE v COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

Summary: Criminal. Judge Stumbo will preside. This is a matter-of-right appeal from appellant Sprague’s conviction for first-degree sexual abuse under KRS 510.110(d). The case involved coming into contact with a minor due to a position of authority or special trust. At issue are the propriety of the court’s instructions and the court’s refusal to further discuss instructions when the jury questioned definitions in the instructions. 

Union County judge who presided in the case – Judge C. Renee’ Williams

Appellant’s attorneys: Bret Beattie and Robert Ousley

Appellee’s attorney: Susan Lenz

3:15 PM     2010-CA-001140   
                    WEST KENTUCKY RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CORPORATION v 
                    CITY OF BARDWELL, KENTUCKY

Summary: Civil. Judge Wine will preside. WKRECC is appealing a summary judgment that favored Bardwell City Utilities in a utility-service dispute between the parties. The ruling named the city as the appropriate utility provider for the completed Carlisle County Courthouse, which is located in an area annexed by the city. WKRECC served the courthouse during construction. It argued in the original case that it should continue providing utilities once the facility was completed since the city had not previously served the tract of the annexed area that includes the courthouse. However, the court decided the city was the rightful provider because it had served other tracts within the annexed area.

At issue in the appeal is whether the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s certification of the WKRECC territory includes the area served by the city-owned utility, whether the county is a current consumer of the city utility because it pays the bills for all county-owned properties within the annexed area and whether separate, non-contiguous tracts should be considered as one for the purpose of determining whether the city utility served the properties at the time of annexation.

Carlisle County judge who presided in the case – Judge Timothy A. Langford

Appellant’s attorneys: Glenn Denton and Melissa Yates

Appellee’s attorney: Kerry Smith

###

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.