| FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ/Press Release) – The Supreme Court of Kentucky will convene March 17-19 to hear oral arguments in civil and criminal cases on appeal from state circuit courts, including cases involving the Good Samaritan Law and a Louisville police pursuit.
The justices will hear arguments through videoconferencing to observe social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The public can watch proceedings via a livestream on KET’s website. To watch proceedings later, visit KET’s Supreme Court section.
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Visit COVID-19 and the Courts for ongoing updates on how the state court system is handling the pandemic. The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals that come before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion to be published, which means that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky. Oral Arguments 9:30 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0454-DG, LINDSEY WILSON V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY 2019-SC-0660-DG, CRAIG MILNER V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY LINDSEY WILSON V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY Criminal Law. KRS 218 A.133 “Good Samaritan” Exemption. Issues involve whether the exemption applies when a 911 caller reports not specifically a “drug overdose” but rather an unknown running vehicle parked in her driveway with two nonresponsive occupants. Discretionary Review granted: 12/13/2019 Fayette Circuit Court, Judge Pamela R. Goodwine Attorney for Appellant: Steven Nathan Goens Attorney for Appellee: Courtney J. Hightower CRAIG MILNER V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY Criminal Law. KRS 218A.133.“Good Samaritan” Exemption. Issues involve whether the exemption applies when a 911 caller reports an unconscious individual slumped over the driver’s seat of a running vehicle with an open door in a retail parking lot. Discretionary Review granted:2/12/20 Fayette Circuit Court, Judge John E. Reynolds Attorney for Appellant: Steven Nathan Goens Attorney for Appellee: Courtney J. Hightower 11:30 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0208-DG CLARA SUSAN SHEETS, EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF STEVEN RAY SHEETS V. FORD MOTOR COMPANY Torts. Workers’ Compensation Act. Up-the-Ladder Immunity. Interlocutory Appeals. Issues include whether denial of a defendant’s up-the-ladder immunity defense under the Worker’s Compensation Act is appealable on an interlocutory basis. Discretionary Review granted: 2/12/20 Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Mary M. Shaw Attorney for Appellant: Kevin Crosby Burke, James Garrett Cambron, Paul James Ivie, Paul Jason Kelley, James Eric Kiser, Jamie Kristin Neal, and Joseph Donald Satterley Attorney for Appellee: Paul D. Hudson and Robert Thaddeus Keal THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 9:30 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0520-DG LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO GOVERNMENT WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, ET AL. V. JEFFERSON COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES, INC., ET AL. Special Legislation. KRS Chapter 109. Consolidated Local Governments. The issue is whether an amendment to KRS Chapter 109, which applies only to consolidated local governments constituted impermissible “special legislation” which was violative of the Kentucky Constitution. The amendment would allow any city in Jefferson County to control its own method of solid waste management. Discretionary Review granted: 2/12/20 Franklin Circuit Court, Judge Phillip J. Shepherd Attorneys for Appellants: Peter Frank Ervin Attorneys for Appellees: Culver Vaughn Halliday, Terri Elaine Boroughs, Chapin Elizabeth Scheumann, Richard Paul Schiller, Finn Robert Cato, Schuyler John Olt, Daniel Clark Cleveland, Joseph Anthony Newberg, Barry Lee Dunn, Victor Bruce Maddox, Robert Kenyon Meyer, Young-Eun Park, J. Tanner Watkins, Kathryn Kirby Wood Attorney for Amicus Curiae: Thomas Joseph FitzGerald 11:30 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0237-DG CHRIS MEINHART, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF DEMETRA BOYD, ET AL. V. LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT, ET AL. Tort Law. Qualified Official Immunity. Police Chase. Issues include whether a Louisville police officer is entitled to qualified official immunity when the victims injured in a high-speed chase allege that the officer’s decision to give chase violated the police department’s pursuit procedures, which: (1) prohibit pursuit of non-felons; and (2) require officers to consider a list of factors prior to commencing a pursuit. Discretionary Review granted: 3/18/20 Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Barry Willett Attorney for Appellants: Chadwick Neal Gardner, Andrew John Horne, Timothy James Byland Attorneys for Appellees: Michael J. O’Connell, Kristie Babbitt Walker, Jay Richard Langenbahn FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 9:30 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0539-DG LOUISVILLE SW HOTEL, LLC, ET AL. V. CHARLESTINE LINDSEY, ET AL. Tort Law. Punitive Damages. Partial Retrial. Issues in this case, arising out of the death of a five-year-old by drowning in a hotel indoor swimming pool, involve the propriety and amount of punitive damages against the hotel found 35% responsible for the death as well as the propriety of the partial retrial of compensatory damages as the result of no award for loss of earning capacity, parental consortium and pain and suffering. Discretionary Review granted: 3/18/20 Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Angela McCormick Bisig Attorney for Appellants: Diane Murphy Laughlin Attorneys for Appellees: Garry Richard Adams, Jr. and Andrew Thomas Lay Attorney for Amicus Curiae: Griffin Terry Sumner 11 a.m. ET 2019-SC-0641-DG UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, INC., D/B/A JAMES GRAHAM BROWN CANCER CENTER, ET AL. V. REAGAN BROOKE SHWAB, ET AL. Medical Malpractice. Informed Consent. KRS 304.40-320. Issues involve the validity of an informed consent signed by a participant in a Phase I clinical trial. Discretionary Review granted: 5/21/20 Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Brian C. Edwards Attorneys for Appellant: Allison Olczak Wildman and Joseph A. Wright Attorneys for Appellees: David Brooks Gray, Whitney Faye Graham, Beth Hendrickson McMasters Attorneys for Amicus Curiae: Patricia Colleen Le Meur, Bethany A. Breetz, Philip S. Goldberg, Sarah Cronan Spurlock |