Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions
The Kentucky Supreme Court provides governing interpretations of state laws and sets rules of practice and procedure for members of the legal profession in Kentucky. The Court reviews cases involving the death penalty, life imprisonment, or a term of imprisonment lasting at least 20 years on direct appeal from the trial court. Other cases must proceed through lower appellate courts before reaching the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court will review these appeals only if the lower appellate court consents.
Seven justices sit on the Kentucky Supreme Court, serving eight-year terms. To be eligible to serve as a justice, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Kentucky and the district that elects them for at least the last two years, and licensed to practice law in Kentucky for at least the last eight years. Kentucky uses a system of non-partisan elections to choose justices. This means that the party affiliation of a candidate does not appear on the ballot. Each of the seven appellate districts in Kentucky elects a justice. The justices elect the Chief Justice, who serves a four-year term.
In recent years, the Kentucky Supreme Court has issued several notable and controversial decisions. For example, a 2012 decision struck down gun bans on university and college campuses as applied to guns that are stored in a vehicle. This case arose from events at the University of Kentucky, and seven other universities in the state supported the position of the University during the litigation. However, the Court rejected their arguments, finding that state laws prevent organizations from prohibiting gun owners from carrying their guns in their vehicles.
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Recent Decisions From the Kentucky Supreme Court
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2021-SC-0492-MR
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2021-SC-0568-MR
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Numbers: 2022-SC-0112-DG, 2022-SC-0369-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Dezmon Moore, a police officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), was terminated after the Chief of Police found he had committed three violations of the department's Standard Operating Procedures…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0197-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Jonathan Hardin, a former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officer, was terminated after the Chief of Police found he violated four Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These violations stemmed from two…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0198-DG
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0293-DG
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Numbers: 2022-SC-0476-DG, 2022-SC-0477-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, a 208-acre estate in Jessamine County was divided into four parcels. In 2004, the owner of Parcel 2 planned residential development, including a bridge and road extension, which was approved by the Nicholasville…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0480-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Commonwealth Building, located in the South Hill Historic District in Lexington, Kentucky. Built in the late 1950s, the building was purchased by The Residences at South Hill, LLC in 2017. The…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0496-RR
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0526-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, a 208-acre estate in Jessamine County was divided into four parcels. In 2004, the owner of Parcel 2 planned residential development, including a bridge and road extension, which was approved by the Nicholasville…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2022-SC-0552-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2016, Kenneth McPeek Racing Stable, Inc. (McPeek) entered into an oral agreement with Nancy Polk, owner of Normandy Farm, LLC (Normandy), to train a horse named Daddy’s Lil’ Darling. McPeek was to receive…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2023-SC-0119-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis Keith Sims was convicted by a Casey County jury of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse involving his granddaughters, nine-year-old D.C. and seven-year-old Z.C. The incidents occurred while the girls stayed…
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Numbers: 2023-SC-0125-MR, 2023-SC-0135-MR
Date: August 22, 2024
Docket Number: 2023-SC-0145-MR
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
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