Judicial Nominating Commission announces nominees for vacant Court of Appeals

Kentucky Court of Justice
Judicial Nominating Commission announces nominees for vacant Court of Appeals judgeship

Press Release Date:
Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Contact Information:
Jamie Neal
Public Information Specialist
502-573-2350, x 50033
jamieneal@kycourts.net
http://courts.ky.gov

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr., today announced nominees to fill the vacant Court of Appeals judgeship for the 4th Appellate District, Division 1, which consists of Jefferson County. The judicial vacancy was created by the resignation of Judge Thomas B. Wine effective Jan. 6, 2012.

The three attorneys named as nominees to fill the vacancy are Irvin G. Maze, Ruth Ann Cox Pence and Harold Gwyn Wren, all of Jefferson County.

Maze has served as a Jefferson Circuit Court judge since 2008. He received his juris doctor from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

Pence is associated with the firm of Pence & Ogburn in Louisville. She received her juris doctor from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

Wren was of counsel for attorney James R. Voyles from 2000-2009. He previously served as dean and professor for the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.  He graduated from Columbia University School of Law and Yale Law School. 

Judicial Nominating Process
When a judicial vacancy occurs, the executive secretary of the Judicial Nominating Commission publishes a notice of vacancy in the judicial circuit or the judicial district affected. Attorneys can recommend someone or nominate themselves. The names of the applicants are not released. Once nominations occur, the individuals interested in the position return a questionnaire to the Office of the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Minton then meets with the Judicial Nominating Commission to choose three nominees. Because the Kentucky Constitution requires that three names be submitted to the governor, in some cases the commission submits an attorney’s name even though the attorney did not apply. A letter naming the three nominees is sent to Gov. Steve Beshear for review. The governor has 60 days to appoint a replacement, and his office makes the announcement.

Makeup of the Judicial Nominating Commission
The Judicial Nominating Commission is established in the Kentucky Constitution. Ky. Const. § 118; SCR 6.000, et seq. The commission has seven members. The membership is comprised of the chief justice of Kentucky (who also serves as chair), two lawyers elected by all the lawyers in their circuit/district and four Kentucky citizens who are appointed by the governor. The four citizens appointed by the governor must equally represent the two major political parties, so two must be Democrats and two must be Republicans. It is the responsibility of the commission to submit a list of three names to the governor and the governor must appoint a judge from this list of three.

Court of Appeals
Nearly all cases heard by the Kentucky Court of Appeals come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in Circuit Court or District Court and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court’s decision. Some cases, such as criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. Cases are not retried in the Court of Appeals. Only the record of the original court trial is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision.

Fourteen judges, two elected from seven appellate court districts, serve on the Court of Appeals. The judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority determining the decision. The panels do not sit permanently in one location, but travel throughout the state to hear cases.

Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm for the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.

Scheme to mail large quantities of Oxycodone from Florida to Kentucky

Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Guilty Verdict in Scheme to Mail Prescription Pills from Florida to Kentucky

Press Release Date:
Thursday, April 05, 2012

Revision Date:
Thursday, April 05, 2012

Contact Information:
Shelley Catharine Johnson
Deputy Communications Director
502-696-5659 (office)

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Special Prosecutions today announced the conviction of a Florida man and sentencing of two Hopkinsville, Ky. residents in connection with a scheme to mail large quantities of Oxycodone from Florida to Kentucky. A Christian County jury on April 3, 2012 found 27-year-old Peter Nibert of Pasco County, Fla. guilty on a charge of conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance, first degree; Oxycodone. The jury deliberated for about 45 minutes following a two-day trial in Christian Circuit Court, before delivering the guilty verdict.

Meanwhile, Co-defendants, 24-year-old Cary Alder and 26-year-old Scotty Highsmith were sentenced to ten and 15 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the pill trafficking scheme.

"The abuse of painkillers like Oxycodone and hydrocodone is fueling overdose deaths in Kentucky," General Conway said. "We’re losing more than 1,000 people a year to prescription drug overdoses. Because of the hard work of everyone involved in this case, we have put a stop to a scheme that was bringing thousands of illicit pills into the Commonwealth."

The jury heard evidence that Nibert had repeatedly mailed large quantities of oxycodone pills from Florida to Alder and Highsmith in Kentucky in 2010 via U.S. mail and Federal Express. It’s believed Nibert mailed more than 3,000 pills to Kentucky over the course of the conspiracy. The jury further heard evidence that the Kentucky defendants then sent cash and money orders back to Nibert after selling the drugs locally. Highsmith had deposited nearly $17,000 in a three-week period into Nibert’s bank account in payment for the drug shipments.

Prior to jury sentencing, Nibert pled guilty to being a persistent felony offender, and accepted an agreed sentence of 15 years, waiving all appeals. With the conviction, the sentencing range was no less than 10 and no more than 20 years. Nibert had previous felony convictions from Florida, and a previous conviction for a drug offense in Florida. Formal sentencing before the court is set in Christian Circuit Court for August 1, 2012.

Christian Circuit Judge Andrew Self sentenced Alder to 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to multiple counts of trafficking in a controlled substance. Highsmith was sentenced to 15 years for pleading guilty to conspiracy to trafficking in a controlled substance, multiple counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, five counts of wanton endangerment, first degree, and for being a persistent felony offender, first degree. Highsmith will not be eligible for parole for a minimum of 10 years.

The indictment and convictions are the result of an ongoing investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Pasco County, Florida Sheriff’s office. Prosecutors in General Conway’s Office of Special Prosecutions handled the prosecution of this case at the request of, and in cooperation with, Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney Lynn Pryor.

Attorney General Conway is increasing investigations into the illegal trafficking of prescription pills in Kentucky through his statewide Prescription Drug Diversion Task Force. The task force, a key participant in the largest prescription drug bust in Kentucky history, is also cracking down on overprescribing physicians, doctor shopping and illegal out-of-state pharmacies.

In addition to his investigative efforts, Attorney General Conway has joined with the Kentucky Justice Cabinet and its Office of Drug Control Policy, Kentucky Pharmacists Association, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), Operation UNITE and concerned parents to launch a statewide prescription drug abuse education and prevention initiative. The Keep Kentucky Kids Safe initiative includes school presentations, an annual student video PSA competition and informational website to alert Kentucky middle and high school students to the dangers of using prescription drugs for recreational purposes.

Peter Nibert, 27

HEMP FOR KENTUCKY!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hemp supporters say support growing in Kentucky

In this summer, 1952, photo hemp plants growing wild on a lot in downtown Louisville, Ky., are killed with chemical spray. Efforts to restore the crop that decades ago was a major industry in Kentucky appear to be growing despite the defeat of another legalization effort in the state’s 2012 General Assembly. The tall, leafy plant was outlawed because of its similarity to marijuana, but supporters argue it’s nearly impossible to get high by smoking hemp. (AP Photo/Louisville Courier-Journal)

By Bruce Schreiner

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Hemp isn’t legal in Kentucky yet, but the eclectic mix of people at the Kentucky Hemp Coalition Seminar in Lexington was evidence that support for the versatile plant may be taking root.

One by one, elected officials stepped forward to promote the virtues of hemp production, staking out a position that once might have sown political trouble back home. They were cheered by liberals and libertarian-leaning conservatives alike.

KHC

"We’ve come a long way," said state Sen. Joey Pendleton, who has sponsored a string of unsuccessful bills seeking to reintroduce hemp in the Bluegrass state. "The first year I had this, it was lonely."

Kentucky once was a leading producer of industrial hemp, a tall, leafy plant with a multitude of uses that has been outlawed for decades because of its association with marijuana. Those seeking to legalize the plant argue that the change would create a new crop for farmers, replacing a hemp supply now imported from Canada and other countries.

The plant can be used to make paper, biofuels, clothing, lotions and other products.

Despite bipartisan support, the latest hemp measures failed again this year in the Kentucky General Assembly. But this time, hemp advocates think they have momentum on their side and vow to press on with their campaign to legalize the crop.

Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville, urged his fellow hemp supporters to lobby hard in preparation for another push in 2013.

"I think next year is the year," said Pendleton, whose grandfather raised hemp in western Kentucky.

Hemp bills have been introduced in 11 state legislatures this year, but so far none have passed, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The bills include allowing privately funded industrial hemp research, allowing hemp production under strict licensing programs and urging the federal government to allow hemp  production for industrial uses.

Hemp’s reputation has undergone drastic pendulum swings in the U.S.

During World War II, the U.S. government encouraged farmers to grow hemp for the war effort because other industrial fibers, often imported from overseas, were in short supply. But the crop hasn’t been grown in the U.S. since the 1950s as the federal government moved to classify hemp as a controlled substance because it’s related to marijuana.

Hemp proponents argue the plant contains little of the mind-altering chemical THC.

Someone would have to "smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole," to get high from hemp, Roger Johnson, a hemp supporter and president of the National Farmers Union, said in a telephone interview.

Craig Lee & Senator Pendleton

Johnson has seen strong support for hemp in North Dakota, where he formerly served as state agriculture commissioner.

Two North Dakota farmers received the state’s first licenses to grow industrial hemp in 2007, but they never received approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The farmers sued, but a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing the suit "There’s no amount of talking, and believe me I’ve tried, that might convince them otherwise," Johnson said of the DEA. "So short of the Congress passing a law defining industrial hemp differently from marijuana, I think it’s going to be a long, uphill battle to get anywhere."

KHC Chair Katie Moyer with James Comer

The federal Controlled Substances Act does not differentiate between marijuana and hemp, said Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman. As a result, "we would not approve applications to grow hemp because it is marijuana," she said.

Because of that, Johnson called for a grassroots push for congressional action to legalize hemp production.

Imports include finished hemp products and hemp material turned into goods. U.S. retail sales of hemp products exceeded $400 million last year, according to industry estimates.

Pete Ashman, of Philadelphia, was among those at the Lexington hemp seminar, where he displayed a myriad of hemp products, from food, to toilet paper to shampoo. He claimed, "There’s nothing greener on God’s earth."

Republican state Sen. Paul Hornback didn’t go that far, but the tobacco farmer from Shelbyville said in a phone interview that he sees industrial hemp as an alternative crop that could give Kentucky agriculture a boost if it ever gains a legal foothold.

James Comer

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer also supports legalization, arguing that industrial hemp could yield more per acre than corn and soybeans. He sees hemp as a viable alternative to tobacco, a once-stalwart crop that has been on the decline in Kentucky.

Comer, among the speakers at the Lexington seminar, said most Kentucky farmers have the equipment needed to produce hemp. He added that the crop needs no herbicides or pesticides, a plus for the environment and a cost savings for producers.

Hemp production would spin off new manufacturing, Comer said, creating jobs in parts of rural Kentucky where a once-thriving garment sector disappeared after the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in the 1990s.

Once factories started churning out hemp products, farmers would flock to the crop, Comer predicted.

Comer, a Republican, said he’s been contacted by three "very legitimate industrial prospects" that would consider opening hemp production plants in Kentucky if the crop becomes legal to grow. One company wants to use hemp to make vehicle dashes, he said. Another wants to make ethanol, the other cosmetics out of hemp, he said.

John Riley

John Riley, a former magistrate in Spencer County, sees hemp as a potentially lucrative crop that could become a renewable fuel source. It would be a big transformation for a crop once known as a major source for rope.

"We’re not talking about rope, and we’re not talking about dope," he said. "What we’re talking about is a serious agricultural product."

Still, the crop needs to overcome what Riley refers to as the "snicker factor."

Pendleton said he’ll keep pushing the economic benefits of hemp.

"I look forward to continuing to fight the fight," Pendleton said. "We can make this happen in Kentucky."

Posted by David Hadland at 6:07 AM