Kentucky Court of Justice
Kentucky Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments Dec. 8 in Lexington
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will convene in Lexington on Wednesday, Dec. 8, to hear oral arguments in two civil cases on appeal from Perry and Pike counties. Proceedings will begin at 10 a.m. EST in Courtroom I on the fourth floor of the Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse. The courthouse is located at 120 N. Limestone. Proceedings will be open to the public.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Judges Laurance B. VanMeter and Thomas B. Wine and Senior Judge Ann O’Malley Shake will hear the arguments.
LEXINGTON DOCKET
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010
10 AM 2010CA000471
CLIFFORD COLEMAN v. ROGER ELSTER FORD
Summary: Civil. Clifford Coleman is appealing a Pike County Circuit Court’s summary judgment regarding an easement reserved in a deed.
Pike County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Eddy Coleman
Appellant’s attorney: Stephen Hogg
Appellee’s attorney: Donald Combs
10:45 AM 2009CA001817
CALVIN CUMMINGS v. BURNICE STEELE ET AL.
Summary: Civil. Calvin Cummings is appealing a Perry County Circuit Court order denying his request for a new trial. The jury in the original case did not award pain and suffering damages.
Perry County judge who ruled in the case – Judge William Engle III
Appellant’s attorney: James Holliday
Appellee’s attorneys: Michael Goforth and Donald Jones
Judge Laurance B. VanMeter
Judge Laurance B. VanMeter was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2003 to serve Division 1 of the 5th Appellate District. He was re-elected to the Court of Appeals in November 2006. The 5th Appellate District is comprised of Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Scott and Woodford counties.
Judge VanMeter also serves as Court of Appeals representative on the Ethics Committee of the Kentucky Judiciary.
Prior to being elected to the Court of Appeals, Judge VanMeter was appointed to serve as a Fayette County circuit judge in 1999. From 1994 to 1999, he was a district judge for Fayette County, Division 1 of the 22nd Judicial District. He practiced law with the Lexington firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park from 1983 to 1994.
Judge VanMeter has been actively involved in many community organizations, including Little League Baseball, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Parents Place.
He received his undergraduate degree in 1980 from Vanderbilt University and his law degree in 1983 from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Kentucky Law Journal.
Judge VanMeter was born in 1958 and is a native of Winchester.
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.
He and his wife, Annie, have two children, Daniel Jacob and Matthew Joseph.
Judge Ann O’Malley Shake
Judge Ann O’Malley Shake is a senior judge assigned to the Court of Appeals.
Prior to joining the Senior Judges Program, Judge Shake served on the Jefferson County bench as a Circuit Court and District Court judge. She previously was an attorney in private practice. She also served as a social worker and a Head Start teacher.
Judge Shake earned her juris doctor from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, graduating in 1982.
She is a member of the Women Lawyers Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, the Louisville Bar Association Board of Directors, the American Bar Association, KATA and the Council on Peacemaking.
Judge Shake and her husband, James, have two children.
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 supports the activities of approximately 3,400 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.