Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2024

Justia Opinion Summary: James Javonte Crite appealed the Daviess Circuit Court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a search of his apartment. Crite was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, resulting…

Justia Opinion Summary: Blake Jeffreys was arrested during a sting operation after unknowingly communicating with an undercover police officer and arranging to meet at a hotel for sex in exchange for $120. On May 14, 2021, Jeffreys pled guilty…

Justia Opinion Summary: Tyler Story was charged with first-offense DUI after being observed driving at high speed with one headlight and failing field sobriety tests. He admitted to drinking and had a breathalyzer result of 0.178. Story…

Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Henry Volentine, a deputy of the Hardin County Office of Sheriff (HCOS), initiated a traffic stop of Maurice Green on October 14, 2014, after noticing Green's vehicle had an expired license plate belonging to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brandon Woodside was convicted by a Hardin County jury of first-degree burglary and being a persistent felony offender. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Woodside broke into an occupied motel room in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Donna Miller Bruenger, the ex-wife of the late Coleman Miller, filed a petition for declaratory judgment against Courtenay Ann Miller, Coleman’s daughter, seeking entitlement to Coleman’s Federal Employee’s Group Life…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Commonwealth of Kentucky, Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways (the "Cabinet") filed a petition to condemn a 30.366-acre tract of land containing subsurface coal in Floyd County for the construction of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute over whether an insurance policy issued by State Auto Property and Casualty Company to Greenville Cumberland Presbyterian Church covered the collapse of the Church’s roof. The Church's roof,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A five-year-old child tragically died after being struck by a vehicle driven by an Alltrade employee at an apartment complex owned by Whispering Brook Acquisitions LLC. Alltrade had a commercial general liability policy…

Justia Opinion Summary: Apren Poore was indicted by a Whitley County Grand Jury on charges of receiving a stolen firearm, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and being a persistent felony offender in the first degree. He entered a…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Vincent was stopped by Officer David Robertson of the Edmonton Police Department based on a tip from a known informant and an alleged equipment violation. The informant reported that two individuals at a gas…

Justia Opinion Summary: Terry Hall worked for BPM Lumber, LLC, and was terminated in 2015 after failing a drug test. In 2018, Hall filed a claim for permanent occupational disability benefits, alleging various health issues due to exposure to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Anderson was convicted of failing to make a required disposition of property in the Hickman District Court on August 17, 2020. He failed to appear for sentencing and did not report to jail as ordered, leading to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1), which restructured the relationship between the Jefferson County Board of Education and its superintendent. The bill required the Board to delegate…

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2020, John Ray Williams was convicted in Graves Circuit Court for first-degree sexual abuse of his granddaughter, L.W. Shortly after his conviction, Williams sent a postcard to Leslie, his former…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Thomas Raider was arrested and charged with multiple drug offenses. He was granted monitored conditional release but failed to comply with its terms, leading to his re-arrest. In 2017, Raider entered a plea…

Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph Lee, a Louisiana resident, sought workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident during nonworking hours while employed at a construction project in Maysville, Kentucky. Lee was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Buford and Sharon Combs executed a joint will in 2013, intending to distribute their estate equally among their five children from previous marriages. Buford died in October 2020, and Sharon died in January 2021. Most of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan Roberts and Briana Gebell are the biological parents of a child born in January 2016. In August 2016, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services filed a dependency, neglect, and abuse (DNA) petition against both…

Justia Opinion Summary: The appellant was convicted of murder, abuse of a corpse, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender, resulting in a fifty-year prison sentence. The case involved the death of Amanda Berry, who had moved in with…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the estate of Penny Ann Simmons, who passed away on July 19, 2018. Dianna Lynn Davenport was appointed as the personal representative of Simmons' estate by the Spencer District Court on September 11,…

Justia Opinion Summary: On April 25, 2018, John Crawford stopped his tanker truck on the shoulder of Interstate 71 to remove loose dogs from the roadway. Kentucky State Trooper Michael Gonterman arrived to assist, parking his cruiser with…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the early morning of October 13, 2020, Calvin Taylor was found dead in his home in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with duct tape on his mouth and arm, and three gunshot wounds. A neighbor, Treesha Shelton, heard gunshots and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jaime Morales, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, was shot and paralyzed during a law enforcement operation to apprehend a bank robbery suspect in September 2018. Morales filed a negligence suit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Thomas Dunbar, also known as "Sam," passed away without any direct descendants. Connie Corner, who was not related to Dunbar by blood, probated a will that purportedly left his entire estate to her. Tyler Popplewell,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves disputes over horse consignment contracts between Ramsey and Hickstead Farms and Dapple Stud, LLC. Ramsey and Hickstead entered into agreements with Dapple Stud to sell their horses at auction, with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kimminee Costello, an event manager for Thompson Catering & Special Events, traveled to Las Vegas for a work conference. After the conference ended, she had some free time before her flight and decided to shop for…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of inmates sentenced to death filed a declaratory judgment action in the Franklin Circuit Court, challenging the validity of the Kentucky Department of Corrections' (DOC) execution regulations. In 2010, the court…

Justia Opinion Summary: On December 5, 2020, Covington Police Officer Kevin Igo received a letter alleging that Scott Bitter, a convicted felon, was involved in drug trafficking and had assaulted someone. Officer Igo and other officers went to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Courier Journal requested multiple public records from the Shively Police Department (SPD) under the Open Records Act, following a fatal car crash involving a police chase. The requested records…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the plaintiff, Dakota Miller, was injured when a vehicle crashed into a business he was patronizing, located on property owned by T & J Land Co., LLC. Miller filed a lawsuit against T & J Land nearly two…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Justia Opinion Summary: Darrie Rushin was indicted on multiple charges, including first-degree burglary and first-degree sodomy. He pled guilty to amended charges and was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by a five-year period of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hunter Smith, a phlebotomist employed by Laboratory Corp of America (Labcorp), sustained a work-related back injury on January 27, 2021, when a shelving unit fell on his head. This incident led to acute lower back…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around a car accident that occurred on November 4, 2015, involving Donna Powers and Fendol Carruthers, Jr. Carruthers was charged and pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around an incident that occurred during the 2018 Kentucky Derby. Joi Denise Roby and her husband were invited by Kyle McGinty to the backside stable area of Churchill Downs, a restricted area not open…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Billy Jo Faughn, who was convicted of wanton murder and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of methamphetamine, resulting in a fatal accident. Faughn had left a funeral and visited the home of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves John Ellis, who was convicted of first-degree rape, second-degree burglary, and kidnapping, and sentenced to fifty years in prison. Ellis appealed his conviction, arguing that the trial court erred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In April 2019, Charlotte Blair executed a power of attorney (POA) appointing her daughter, Annette Wiley, as her attorney in fact. The POA was not signed by two disinterested witnesses as required by Kentucky law at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Daquan N. Lampkins, who was convicted of two counts of murder, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and violation of a protective order. Lampkins had a tumultuous relationship with Delivia…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Timothy Poole, a law graduate who failed the Kentucky Bar Examination five times. Poole claimed that the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions (KYOBA) and its Executive Director, Valetta Browne,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Demetrius Roberson, who was convicted by a Logan County jury for murder, first-degree robbery, nine counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, and attempted murder. The case arose from an incident…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves four appellants who are parole-eligible inmates serving life sentences in the Kentucky Department of Corrections. They were denied any further opportunity at parole for the remainder of their sentences…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Robert Keith Woodall was sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a teenage girl. In 2015, Woodall filed a Motion to Vacate the Death Sentence Due to Intellectual Disability, arguing that he is…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ricky Ullman was convicted on three counts of distribution of a matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. He was sentenced to twelve years, probated for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Kentucky has removed Joseph “JS” Flynn from his position as Pulaski Circuit Court Clerk following allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior. Flynn was appointed in 2016 and elected in 2018. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Kentucky addressed a dispute over the division of proceeds from the sale of a commercial property. The parties involved were business partners who had formed an LLC to manage the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A man, convicted of murder, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a handgun by a felon, appealed his convictions and sentence to the Supreme Court of Kentucky. The case centered around the shooting death of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case originates from a dispute over the jurisdiction for a child custody matter. The parties involved are Justin Aldava and Alyssa Baum, parents of H.A., a child born in Texas in 2019. The couple moved from Texas to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Kentucky upheld an appellate court's decision in a workers' compensation claim involving claims of extraterritorial jurisdiction. Lewis Hicks, a Kentucky resident, was injured in West Virginia while…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical malpractice case, the Supreme Court of Kentucky analyzed KRS 411.167, a law requiring claimants to file a certificate of merit alongside their complaint. The plaintiff, Mario Sanchez, had filed a suit…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Kentucky was asked to determine whether the 2017 and 2021 amendments to KRS 413.249, which extended the statute of limitations for civil claims of childhood sexual assault and abuse,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2019, Keith McWhorter and his wife, Carol, filed a lawsuit against Baptist Healthcare System, Inc., alleging medical negligence and loss of consortium. The defendant argued that the plaintiffs failed to file a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard before the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the primary issue was whether the Breathitt Circuit Court correctly dismissed Teresa Spicer's lawsuit against James Combs for intentional infliction of emotional…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2024, the Supreme Court of Kentucky reviewed the case of Kory E. Helmick who was convicted by a Greenup County jury of two counts of sodomy in the third degree, one count of sodomy in the first degree, one count of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2013, Ahmad Rashad Davis was indicted for Medicaid fraud and theft by deception for defrauding Medicaid of $14,505.36 by falsifying timesheets over two years. In May 2014, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Bennett D. Couch was convicted by the Kenton Circuit Court for possession and transfer of child pornography in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 531.335 and 531.340. The conviction was based on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Kentucky dealt with a case regarding a patient, Ronald N. Arnsperger, Jr., who claimed he suffered injuries due to the negligent actions of a hospital staffer at Saint Elizabeth Medical Center, Inc.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case involving Steven Roark who was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, and tampering with physical evidence, the Supreme Court of Kentucky reversed the decision of the Court…