Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments July 6 in Bowling Green
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in four civil case appeals Tuesday, July 6, at the Warren County Judicial Center in Bowling Green. Proceedings will begin at 1 p.m. CDT in Circuit Courtroom C on the fourth floor of the judicial center, which is located at 1001 Center St. Proceedings will be open to the public.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Judges Joy A. Moore and Thomas B. Wine and Senior Judge William R. Harris will hear oral arguments in the cases, which are on appeal from courts in Christian, Marshall, McCracken and Warren counties.
A docket containing summaries of the cases is below.
BOWLING GREEN DOCKET
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
1 PM 2009CA000820
GARRY MARRS COMER v. SUSAN BARRETT COMER
Summary: Civil. The appellant claims that the trial court made an error in dividing the marital property in this marital dissolution case.
Warren County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Margaret Ryan Huddleston
Appellant’s attorney: David Broderick
Appellee’s attorney: B. Alan Simpson
1:45 PM 2009CA001630
EDWARD J. LADD v. MARY A. LADD
Summary: Civil. The children of appellant Edward J. Ladd are appealing the trial court’s declaratory judgment, which determined that certain assets should be vested in the estate rather than in a living trust.
McCracken County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Robert J. Hines
Appellant’s attorney: Robert Goff
Appellee’s attorney: Kerry Smith
2:30 PM 2009CA002297
DAVID MCHENRY v. MELISSA STEVENS
Summary: Civil. The appellant, who does not reside in Kentucky, is appealing orders from Marshall County Family Court that dissolved the parties’ marriage, awarded custody to the appellee and denied a request to transfer the case to Pennsylvania. He claims that Kentucky courts do not have personal jurisdiction over him or subject matter jurisdiction over the custody determination. He also claims that the trial court erred in failing to find Kentucky an inconvenient forum.
Marshall County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Robert Dan Mattingly
Appellant’s attorney: Lisa Derenard
Appellee’s attorney: Catherine Fuller
3:15 PM 2009CA001599
TIM TAYLOR v. DANIEL KING
Summary: Civil. Appellant Tim Taylor is challenging the constitutionality of the Drum Shop Act, KRS 413.241. His appeal involves punitive damages, the jural rights doctrine, separation of powers and special legislation.
Christian County judge who ruled in the case – Judge Andrew Self
Appellant’s attorney: David Oakes
Appellee’s attorney: Michael Vitale
Judge Joy A. Moore
Judge Joy A. Moore was elected judge for the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006 to serve Division 2 of the 6th Appellate District. The 6th Appellate District is comprised of Bath, Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties.
Judge Moore served six years as chief law clerk for William O. Bertelsman, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. She also served as staff attorney to Kentucky Court of Appeals Judges Daniel T. Guidugli and Robert W. Dyche III. As a practitioner, Judge Moore specialized in civil rights defense work in the litigation department of Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing PLLC in Covington and practiced general litigation law with Hoffman, Hoffman & Grubbs in Elsmere.
Judge Moore graduated magna cum laude from Morehead State University, where she also earned a master’s degree and a Rank I teaching certificate. After teaching special education for seven years in Grant and Pendleton county schools, Judge Moore earned her juris doctor from the Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She ranked No. 1 in her law school class, graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Northern Kentucky Law Review. She received numerous scholarships and awards for academic achievement, including the Chase Excellence Scholarship.
Judge Moore is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and the Salmon P. Chase Inn of Court. She serves on the St. Elizabeth Hospice Committee and the Executive Committee of Every Child Succeeds. She is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky and serves on its Government Committee. She is a former member of Vision 2015, a 10-year strategic plan developed by Northern Kentucky citizens for economic growth, as well as the Kentucky Personnel Board, the Governor’s Postsecondary Education Nominating Commission and the board of the Boone County Court Appointed Special Advocates. She is a member of Florence Baptist Church, where she previously served on the Women’s Council.
Judge Moore grew up in Menifee County and resides in Boone County with her husband, Gary W. Moore. They have two children, Brandi Moore List and Scott Moore.
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.
Senior Judge William R. Harris
Judge William R. Harris of Franklin is a senior judge assigned to the Court of Appeals. He became a senior judge after retiring as a Circuit Court judge in December 2008.
Judge Harris was appointed to the circuit bench in 1989 and elected later that year to fill an unexpired term. He was elected to his first full term in 1991. He served Allen and Simpson counties.
Prior to his judicial career, Judge Harris was an attorney in private practice from 1969 until his judicial appointment in 1989. He was also previously a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Mac Swinford and served in the U.S. Air Force.
Judge Harris earned his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Judge Harris and his wife, Ida, have two adult sons.
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.