Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear arguments about whether Ethics Commission has jurisdiction over PVAs on May 26 in Lexington
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments about whether the Executive Branch Ethics Commission has jurisdiction over property valuation administrators when the court convenes Wednesday, May 26, in Lexington. Proceedings will take place at 1 p.m. EDT in Fayette County Circuit Courtroom I, which is located on the fourth floor of the Circuit Court building at 120 N. Limestone. Proceedings will be open to the public.
The Ethics Commission is appealing a June 2009 ruling from Franklin County Circuit Court that said the commission had no jurisdiction over PVAs.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Acting Chief Judge Laurance B. VanMeter and Court of Appeals Judges Glenn E. Acree and Thomas B. Wine will hear oral arguments in the appeal, which is styled Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission v. Betty Atkinson et. al.
The judges will also hear oral arguments in two other civil case appeals Wednesday that involve government entities - Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The judges will hear arguments in Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government v. L.L. Hanks, Jr. & Sons at 1:45 p.m. EDT and James D. Carreer v. Cabinet for Health and Family Services at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
A docket containing summaries of the cases is below.
LEXINGTON DOCKET
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
1 PM 2009CA001145
KENTUCKY EXECUTIVE BRANCH ETHICS COMMISSION v.
BETTY ATKINSON ET. AL
Summary: Civil. At issue is the trial court ruling in June of 2009 that said the state Ethics Commission did not have jurisdiction over property valuation administrators.
Franklin County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Phillip J. Shepherd
Appellant’s attorneys: Dana Nickles and John Steffen
Appellees’ attorneys: Daniel Morgan and Bobby Richardson
1:45 PM 2009CA000209 and 2009CA000926
LEXINGTON-FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT v.
L.L. HANKS, JR. & SONS
Summary: Civil. The Court of Appeals granted discretionary review to hear the appeals in this case that originated in District Court. LFUCG is appealing a District Court order that awarded attorney fees to the appellee after dismissing a citation for a code enforcement violation. At issue is whether the appellee, L.L. Hanks Jr. & Sons, needed to show proof of bad faith in order to be awarded attorney fees. The appellee filed a cross motion for the court to consider the adequacy of the award.
Fayette County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Ernesto M. Scorsone
Appellant’s attorneys: Leslye Bowman, Michael Sanner and Willis Wilson
Appellee’s attorney: Carroll Redford III
2:30 PM 2009CA000155
JAMES D. CARREER v.
CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES
Summary: Civil. The appellant, James D. Carreer, is appealing a Circuit Court order that affirmed a decision to transfer him to another division in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The order affirmed the state Personnel Board’s decision to uphold the cabinet’s decision to transfer him to another division. In addition to due process issues, the issues in this appeal include whether there was substantial evidence to support the agency’s finding that a transfer was justified and was not a demotion or penalty, whether reorganization was properly implemented and whether the cabinet had the authority to transfer him.
Franklin County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Thomas D. Wingate
Appellant’s attorney: James Carreer
Appellee’s attorneys: Alea Arnett and Boyce Crocker
Acting Chief Judge Laurance B. VanMeter
Judge Laurance B. VanMeter is the acting chief judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was elected to the 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 Glenn E. Acree
Judge Glenn E. Acree was elected judge for the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006 to serve Division 2 of the 5th Appellate District. He was appointed to that position in August 2006 to fill a vacancy created when Judge Julia K. Tackett retired June 30, 2006.
The 5th Appellate District is comprised of Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Scott and Woodford counties.
Judge Acree resides in Lexington, where he has had a solo practice since 1997. Prior to 1997, he practiced law with Stidham & Acree from 1996 to 1997; with Thomas, Stidham & Acree from 1994 to 1996; and with McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland from 1985 to 1994.
Before his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Acree handled litigation and appeals in the areas of criminal law, administrative law, employment discrimination, civil procedure, insurance law, domestic relations, environmental law and construction law.
Judge Acree has a bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from the University of Kentucky. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.
He is married to the former Lisa T. Hahn of Versailles. He has two sons, Matt and Taylor.
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.
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 prepares a biennial budget draft and executes the Judicial Branch budget.