Bench & Bar

SEP 2014

The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.

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Judicial Conduct Commission P.O. Box 4266 Frankfort, KY 40604-4266 Phone: 502-564-1231 F ax: 502-564-1233 Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Commission Members S tephen D. Wolnitzek, Chair Covington Judge Janet L. Stumbo Prestonsburg Judge Eddy Coleman Pikeville Judge David P. Bowles Louisville Diane E. Logsdon Elizabethtown Joyce King Jennings Louisville Alternate Members J. David Boswell Paducah Judge Laurance B. VanMeter Lexington Judge Jeffrey M. Walson Winchester Judge Susan M. Johnson Paintsville Commission Staff Ms. Jimmy Shaffer Executive Secretary J. Rachel Noyes Executive Assistant Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report C omplaints: x 28 - Number of complaints pending at the beginning of the fiscal year x 193 - Number of complaints received during the fiscal year x 192 - Number of complaints disposed of during the fiscal year x 29 - Number of complaints pending at the end of the fiscal year Supreme Court Justices - 7 Court of Appeals Judges - 14 Circuit Court Judges - 95 Family Court Judges - 51 District Judges - 116 Trial Commissioners - 60 Master Commissioners - 116 Domestic Relations Commissioners - 24 <ĞŶƚƵĐŬLJ:ƵĚŝĐŝĂůWŽƐŝƚŝŽŶƐ There are 367 judicial positions in the Commonwealth of Kentucky within the jurisdiction of the Commission. Additionally, the Commission has jurisdiction over attorneys who have filed as candidates for judicial office. Of 193 total complaints filed for fiscal year 2013-2014, 81 complaints were filed against circuit court judges of general jurisdiction, 51 were filed against circuit family court judges, 50 were filed against district court judges, and 17 were filed against judicial candidates. In the 2013-2014 fiscal year , the Commission considered 209 c omplaintsȄ 193 new complaints and 28 complaints carried over from the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The Commission con- cluded 192 complaints, five of which resulted in imposed sanctions: x Two Private Admonitions 1. Violation of Canon 4C(3)(b)(i) and (iv) for using the prestige of the judicial office for the solicita- tion of donations for a charitable organization. 2. Violation of Canon 3B(5) for making a statement during a court proceeding which could be per- ceived as gender bias. x Two Public Reprimands ( Judge Martin McDonald and Judge Frank A. Fletcher ) x One 30-day Suspension ( Judge Rebecca S. Ward ) Twenty-nine complaints were pending at the end of the fiscal year, eighteen of which were received prior to the end of the fiscal year but too late to be considered before the first meet- ing in the new fiscal year and eleven of which were carried after initial consideration. Jurisdiction: Judicial Conduct Complaints: 38 B&B; • 9.14 J U D I C I A L C O N D U C T C O M M I S S I O N

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