Kentucky

Did Justice Stevens Pull a Fast One? The Hidden Logic of a Recent Retroactivity Case in the Supreme Court

Posted on February 25, 2008
Findlaw.com  By MICHAEL C. DORF   Monday, Feb. 25, 2008 Last week, in Danforth v. Minnesota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state court was free to give greater protection to defendants’ rights than the Supreme Court itself requires. Stated that way, the decision is hardly news...

Ky. Sup. Ct. Reverses Business Guest Rule

Posted on February 25, 2008
Feb. 25, 2008 The Kentucky Supreme has overruled prior case law by holding that a corporation could not be held responsible for injury or death of a guest who was accompanying an employee on a business trip, if the presence of the guest was not for a business purpose, even in cases where the corporation had [...

This week at the State Capitol

Posted on February 24, 2008
FRANKFORT — As the 2008 session of the Kentucky Legislature passed its midpoint this week, three of the big-ticket, big-headlines issues of this session were in plain view:·         The budget was being grappled with in subcommittees that will make recommendations to the full House Appropriations and Revenue Committee for its budget bill soon...

Cancer patient awarded $9 million in insurance lawsuit. Punitive damages allowed. Company cancelled policy after patient got ill.

Posted on February 24, 2008
By THOMAS WATKINS Associated Press  Feb. 23, 2008  LOS ANGELES ? A woman who had her medical coverage canceled as she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer has been awarded more than $9 million in a case against one of California’s largest health insurers...

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Bill to extend the Senior Judge Program past July 2008 has little chance for passage.

Posted on February 24, 2008
Chief Justice said to be target of Sen. Williams due to Supreme Court ruling against legislative pension bill in 2003. Feb. 24, 2008 The current Senior Judge program has a sunset expiration date of July 1, 2008.  An attempt was made to extend this program during the last session of the legislature but was shot down in [...

9th. Circuit holds that assertion of Right to Remain Silent can not be ignored

Posted on February 24, 2008
 The case is Anderson v. Terhune, No. 04-17237  Metropolitan News-Enterprise By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer  February 19, 2008 An en banc panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday tossed out a Shasta County man?s conviction of a murder he confessed to because authorities violated his right against self-incrimination when they continued to [...

Supreme Court to review Exclusionary Rule on evidence

Posted on February 24, 2008
Conservative justices have their eyes on the controversial doctrine that requires judges to throw out anything improperly obtained by police.   By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times  February 20, 2008 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to reconsider the reach of the “exclusionary rule,” a doctrine that has been controversial since the 1960s because it [...

Dept. of Treasury announces- When you will receive your personal check to stimulate the economy. How much will it be.

Posted on February 24, 2008
Dept. of Treasury Announcement regarding refunds that will be mailed out to all U.S. taxpayers: EXAMPLES OF HOW THE ECONOMIC GROWTH PACKAGE WILL BENEFIT AMERICANS Married with children: 1) Married couple with two children1, earned income of $4,000, no federal income tax paid...

Supreme Court Justices Further Resist Finding Right to Sue

Posted on February 24, 2008
What good is a law if it can’t be enforced? By Robert Barnes  Washington Post  February 24, 2008 There was a time when Supreme Court justices peered into federal statutes outlawing discrimination and found between the lines the right of the aggrieved to take his complaint to court...

New Schizophrenia drug called breakthrough in neuroscience

Posted on February 24, 2008
New York Times By ALEX BERENSON  February 24, 2008 NORTH WALES, Pa. ? SCIENTISTS who develop drugs are familiar with disappointment ? brilliant theories that don?t pan out or promising compounds derailed by unexpected side effects. They are accustomed to small steps and wrong turns, to failure after failure ? until, in a moment, with hard [...

401-K plan mismanagement ripe area for consumer lawsuits

Posted on February 24, 2008
Federal Court ruling creates litigation opportunities for  lawyers THE New York Times By Martha M. Hamilton  February 24, 2008 The Supreme Court’s ruling on the mismanagement of a 401(k) plan last week isn’t likely to have broad ramifications for investors saving for retirement...

Judicial Nominating Commission announces names of nominees for vacant District Court judgeship in McCreary and Whitley counties

Posted on February 23, 2008
Feb. 23, 2008  FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert, today announced the three nominees to fill a vacant district judgeship for the 34th Judicial District, Division 2, consisting of McCreary and Whitley counties...

High Court Says No to Wiretapping, Yes to Exclusionary Rule

Posted on February 22, 2008
by Dan Slater ? Wall St. Journal ? Feb. 22, 2008  Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted cert in a case that, commentators say, gives them an opporunity to carve out more exceptions to the ?exclusionary rule,? a criminal procedure doctrine that excludes evidence obtained from an unlawful search...

U.S. Sup. Ct. Shields Medical Devices From Lawsuits

Posted on February 22, 2008
By LINDA GREENHOUSE Published: February 21, 2008  WASHINGTON ? Makers of medical devices like implantable defibrillators or breast implants are immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the Food and Drug Administration approved the device before it was marketed and it meets the agency?s specifications, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday...

U..S. Supreme Ct. Decision allows 401(k) participants to sue over losses

Posted on February 22, 2008
Star news services Feb. 22, 2008 Individual investors in 401(k) retirement plans secured a big victory this week ? the right to sue to recover losses under certain circumstances.  The unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has implications for 50 million workers with $2...

Boone Commonwealth Attn. tells of family in need.

Posted on February 21, 2008
  v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }  LInda Smith, Commonwealth Attorney for Gallatin and Boone Counties informed us of a family in need...

Fans File Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against New England Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick over Cheating Scandal

Posted on February 15, 2008
February 15, 2008                Attorney Eric Deters of Independence, Kentucky, one of the attorneys involved, has filed a Class Action lawsuit in behalf of fans in Federal Court in New Orleans. The suit is filed in behalf of a former St. Louis Rams professional football player and the fans who purchased season tickets and fans who [...

REPORT SHOWS LINK BETWEEN EDUCATION AND PROSPERITY IN KENTUCKY

Posted on February 15, 2008
February 15, 2005   County information is available at http://www.cpe.ky.gov/info/county.      The Council on Postsecondary Education released Kentucky?s 2008-10 County Profiles today, which shows that counties with high numbers of college graduates also have high household median incomes...

Professor Lawson on prison crowding, tough sentencing laws, and the need for reason in our corrections policy.

Posted on February 15, 2008
Feb. 15, 2008-   In 1970, we had 96 people in prison per 100,000 population. It’s gone up 400 percent. I don’t buy the argument that it’s the crime rate that’s driving up the prison population. It’s tougher penalties across the board...

Bill Introduced to Reduce Sentences for Misdemeanor Offenses to Reduce Jail Crowding

Posted on February 14, 2008
Misdemeanor criminals would see their jail sentences deeply cut under a bill filed this week by the chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, on Wednesday said she hasn’t decided how aggressively she will push House Bill 513, which would reduce the maximum penalty for Class A misdemeanors from 12 to 6 months [...

Governor introduces Casino Legislative Plan

Posted on February 14, 2008
Feb. 14, 2008 FRANKFORT, KY ? Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today unveiled proposed legislation that will allow Kentucky voters to determine a constitutional amendment  permitting limited expanded gaming. The governor also discussed details of legislation that would govern the way in which expanded gaming would operate once the constitutional amendment is passed...

Religion becoming issue in Custody Cases. Judges are uneasy.

Posted on February 13, 2008
By NEELA BANERJEE February 13, 2008 MADISON, Ala. ? On a January night nine years ago, Laura Snider was saved.  Skip to next paragraph Laura Snider believes she and her husband, Brian, lost primary custody of her daughter, Libby, because at the time, Mrs...

Obama favored in Potomac primaries this week, but Clinton leads in the three largest states yet to vote.

Posted on February 12, 2008
In three large, delegate rich states who had not yet held their primary elections for the Democratic Nomination, Clinton maintains substantial leads over Obama. Polls Date: 1/30-31 Texas Added: 2/3/08 Est. MoE = 4.2% [?] Hillary Clinton 48% Barack Obama 38% Mike Gravel 3% Unsure 10% Source Franklin & Marshall College/Philadelphia Daily News/WGAL TV, et al, Keystone Poll Date: 1/8-14 Pennsylvania Added: 1/18/08 Est...

Psychologists study provides tips on the art of persuasion that may be useful for attorneys

Posted on February 12, 2008
You Remind Me of Me     writePost(); if (acm.cc) acm.cc.write(); By BENEDICT CAREY: February 12, 2008    Artful persuasion depends on eye contact, but not just any kind. If one person prefers brief glances and the other is busy staring deeply, then it may not matter how good the jokes are or [...

General Election Turnout Data is Now Available

Posted on February 12, 2008
Feb. 12, 2008 (Frankfort, KY)  The State Board of Elections announced today that turnout data for the November 2007 election is now available on its website at www.elect.ky.gov.  Statewide turnout was 37.8% for the general election, marking the lowest turnout in modern history for a Kentucky gubernatorial election cycle...

Justice Scalia says courts should not prohibit torture

Posted on February 12, 2008
Scalia once wrote that innocence was no justification for another appeal after due process had been granted in death penalty case. February 12, 2008  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejected the notion that US courts have any control over the actions of American troops at Guantanamo Bay, argued that torture of terror detainees is not banned [...

Kentucky kicks off Lincoln Bicentennial celebration

Posted on February 11, 2008
Feb. 11, 2008    The Kentucky General Assembly will mark the kickoff of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration on Tuesday, Feb. 12, by convening in the Old State Capitol Building, a historic structure that was the center of Kentucky government at the time of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency...

THIS WEEK IN FRANKFORT

Posted on February 11, 2008
FRANKFORT — One month in, the 2008 edition of the Kentucky General Assembly is now grappling with the challenge of writing a two-year state budget in the face of badly eroded revenues, as committees and full chambers push bills along in a process that will continue till final adjournment in mid-April...

Allowing Super Delegates to chose the nominee for President?oh the humanity! But it sure beats allowing the Supreme Court to choose the president.

Posted on February 10, 2008
It?s better to allow 800 to select a nominee than to allow 7 to choose a president.   Editorial by Stan Billingsley  -  Feb. 10, 2008:   We are amused by the outrage of members of the media and others about how terrible it is that the Democrats might be allowing their 800 Super Delegates to select the party?s [...

Texans protest proposed toll roads. Will Kentuckians?

Posted on February 10, 2008
ROBSTOWN, Tex. ? Leon Little?s farm here near Corpus Christi would not be seized for Texas?s proposed $184-billion-plus superhighway project for 5 or 10 years, if ever. But Mr. Little was alarmed enough to show up Wednesday night with hundreds of his South Texas coastal neighbors to do what the Texas Department of Transportation has been [...

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