Kentucky Court of Justice
U.S. Court of Appeals Senior Judge Pierce Lively to give keynote speech at Kentucky’s Law Day celebration April 30

FRANKFORT, Ky., April 27, 2010 – Senior Judge Pierce Lively of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will be the keynote speaker for the 2010 Law Day celebration Friday, April 30, at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort. The annual event is open to the public and will begin at 10 a.m. in the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Law Day is a nationally designated day for Americans to celebrate the rule of law. The day underscores how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms of Americans. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day on May 1, 1958, to strengthen America’s heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law. In April 1961, Congress passed a joint resolution designating each May 1 as Law Day, U.S.A.
 
The Supreme Court of Kentucky will host the Law Day ceremony, which will begin with Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. opening a special court session. Following Judge Lively’s remarks, Susan Stokley Clary, clerk of the Supreme Court, will administer the Constitutional oath during a swearing-in ceremony for 144 new attorneys. Charles E. English Jr., president of the Kentucky Bar Association, will present the new attorneys to the assemblage.

The event will also include an awards presentation for individuals who have contributed to law-related education programs. Distinguished guests from federal and state government and various law-related entities will be in attendance.  

Judge Pierce Lively
Judge Pierce Lively was born in Louisville, Ky. He graduated magna cum laude from Centre College in Danville, Ky., with an A.B. degree in history and English literature.

Judge Lively served in the U.S. Naval Reserve before earning a law degree from the University of Virginia. He was a law clerk for a year before going into private practice in Danville, Ky. In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon nominated him to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Lively became chief judge of the Sixth Circuit in 1983 and served in that capacity until 1988. During that time he was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

The Kentucky Bar Association named Judge Lively Kentucky's Outstanding Judge in 1987 and Centre College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Law degree in 1988. The American Inns of Court presented its Professionalism Award for the Sixth Circuit to Judge Lively in 1998. He received the University of Kentucky Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement in 2000.