Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear arguments Dec. 16 in Shepherdsville
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in two civil case appeals from Jefferson County when it convenes Thursday, Dec. 16, at the Bullitt County Judicial Center in Shepherdsville. Proceedings will begin at 1:30 p.m. EST in Courtroom 301 on the third floor of the judicial center at 250 Frank E. Simon Ave. Proceedings will be open to the public.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jeff S. Taylor, Court of Appeals Judge Donna L. Dixon and Senior Judge Sheila Isaac will hear oral arguments in the cases.
A docket containing summaries of the cases is below.
SHEPHERDSVILLE DOCKET
Dec. 16, 2010
1:30 PM 2009CA001516
JOANNE HOWLETT v. SAFE AUTO SERVICES, INC.
Summary: Civil. The Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of Safe Auto and dismissed Joanne Howlett’s claims against Safe Auto. At issue in the appeal is whether this was proper given Safe Auto’s dual-purpose notice and the doctrine of reasonable expectation.
Jefferson County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Susan Schultz Gibson
Appellant’s attorney: Philip Edwards
Appellee’s attorneys: David Shearer, Timothy Spille, W. Kemper and Robert Steinmetz
2:15 PM 2009CA002276
KENNETH H. BAKER v. PATRICK WAYNE BACK
Summary: Civil. At issue is whether the amount of the jury’s award and damages was proper in a legal malpractice claim.
Jefferson County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Mary M. Shaw
Appellant’s attorney: Grover Cox
Appellee’s attorney: Matthew Troutman
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 Donna L. Dixon
Judge Dixon was appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in July 2006 to represent the 1st Appellate District, Division 2. She was subsequently elected to the court in November 2007.
The 1st Appellate District is comprised of Allen, Ballard, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Simpson, Todd, Trigg and Webster counties.
Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Dixon served as a McCracken County district judge for more than 10 years. She began her legal career as a staff attorney for Judge J. William Howerton during his tenure as chief judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. She also was an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for McCracken County and spent several years in private practice.
Judge Dixon graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Murray State University and cum laude with a juris doctor degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Judge Dixon previously served as president of the Paducah-McCracken County United Way, the McCracken County Young Lawyers Association and the Leadership Paducah Alumni Association. She has also served on the boards of the Paducah Rotary Club, the Childwatch Children’s Advocacy Center, the Paducah Rape Crisis Center and the McCracken County Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Council.
Judge Dixon is a member of First Baptist Church of Paducah.
Judge Sheila Isaac
Judge Isaac is a senior judge assigned to the Court of Appeals. She has served as a senior judge since 2008.
Prior to joining the Senior Judges Program, Judge Isaac served on the Fayette County bench as a Circuit Court judge for 12 years and as a District Court judge for nine years. She was appointed by the chief justice of Kentucky to serve as chief judge of Fayette County Circuit Court from 2004 to 2008. She previously was an assistant county attorney for the Fayette County Attorney’s Office and a domestic relations commissioner for Fayette County Circuit Court. She also maintained a private law practice.
She earned her juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating in 1977.
Judge Isaac previously served on the Domestic Violence Prevention Board, the Lexington Crime Commission and the Lexington Law Enforcement Advisory Board.
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.