MCBA Spring Ethics Seminar

The MCBA Spring Ethics Seminar will be Wednesday, June 8, 2016, beginning at 9:00 a.m., at the WKCTC Emerging Technology Center.  It will feature two hours of Ethics CLE credit.  This seminar is a “last chance” opportunity for ethics credit before the end of the fiscal year.  The topics are:

(1)        The New Kentucky Attorney Advertising Rules: Program beginning at 9:00 a.m. covering the new advertising rules which went into effect January 1, 2016; and

(2)        Use of the Ethics Hotline:  Program beginning at 10:00 a.m. covering the latest developments from the ethics hotline.

Refreshments will be graciously provided by The Paducah Bank Trust Department. 

If you plan on attending this program then please do us the favor of sending an RSVP to belinda@ml-lawfirm.com so that we can provide an accurate count to The Paducah Bank so that the trust department can make preparations.

May 2016 Meeting

Our regular lunch meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 16, 2016, at 12:00 p.m., at Tribeca, located at 127 Market House Square.  The price of the lunch is $14.00 (including tax and gratuity).  Please bring either cash or a check made payable to “McCracken County Bar Association.”

Amelia Martin Adams will be our speaker.  The topic will be “Kentucky Bar Foundation and IOLTA Fund Overview.”  This program has been approved for a one-half hour general CLE credit.

Please RSVP to belinda@ml-lawfirm.com by close of business on Thursday, May 12, 2016, so that we can provide an accurate lunch count to Tribeca.

Updated 50-Year Service Plaque

A plaque honoring MCBA members with 50 or more years of service was presented to the McCracken Circuit Court at the March 2016 meeting.

We would appreciate your future input to keep this plaque current as additional MCBA members reach their 50-year milestones.

April 2016 Monthly Meeting

Our regular lunch meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 18, 2016, at 12:00 p.m., at Tribeca, located at 127 Market House Square.  The price of the lunch is $14.00 (including tax and gratuity).  Please bring either cash or a check made payable to “McCracken County Bar Association.”

First Assistant McCracken County Attorney Todd Jones will be our speaker.  The topic will be “Kentucky Ignition Interlock Law.”  We hope to receive CLE approval from the Kentucky Bar Association for this program.   

Please RSVP to belinda@ml-lawfirm.com by close of business on Thursday, April 14, 2016, so that we can provide an accurate lunch count to Tribeca.

Announcement from Bar Governors Concerning KBA Convention Registration

Dear Colleague:

We are writing to encourage you to register now for the 2016 KBA Annual Convention. Note that the Convention will be held a month earlier than usual, Wednesday, May 11, through Friday, May 13, and will take place in Louisville at the Kentucky International Convention Center and the Marriott Downtown Louisville.

If you register by Friday, April 15, you will receive a $100 discount. For more information on the convention and to secure your spot, click here.

The Convention and CLE Planning Committees have done an outstanding job in securing top notch speakers and have planned many social and networking opportunities for our members. Click here to view a PDF of our featured and spotlight speakers.

We look forward to seeing you and many other attorneys from our district at this year’s convention!!

Sincerely,

W. Fletcher Schrock & Michael M. Pitman
Bar Governors

Court Sessions Cancelled Good Friday, March 25, 2016, in McCracken Circuit, Family, and District Courts

We have received word that, due to the closure of the McCracken County Courthouse on Good Friday, that there will be no court sessions in McCracken Circuit Court, McCracken Family Court, and McCracken District Court on March 25, 2016.  You may read the related order by clicking here.

Update on Proposed House version of Judicial Branch budget for FB 2016-2018

The Kentucky Bar Association has asked us to forward the following message from Chief Justice Minton:

Today the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee voted to pass budget bills for all three branches of state government. This is a critical step in the process as it tells us what the House has appropriated for the Judicial Branch budget. The full version of HB 304 (committee sub) is attached to this message. 

Unfortunately – in spite of early indications to the contrary – the news is very grim. Based on the amount appropriated by the House, the Judicial Branch would be short $36.3 million in Fiscal Year 2017 and $40.6 million in FY 2018. This means we are facing a $76.9 million shortfall for the biennium on top of the 49 percent overall budget reduction the court system has endured since 2008.  

The House version of our budget bill also includes additional funding items for circuit clerk raises (specifically excluding all judges) and the creation of a family court judgeship in Daviess County.  

The consequences of the House version of the Judicial Branch budget, if enacted, can only be described as catastrophic. Because personnel costs make up 87 percent of our budget, we are concerned that the shortfall will have a significant impact on our non-elected employees. The Kentucky state court system – considered among the strongest in the country – would no longer be able to operate as we know it today. 

The amount the House appropriated for our budget is inexplicable in light of our intensive efforts to detail what these extreme cuts would do to court operations.  House leadership responded with public support for full funding of the Judicial Branch budget. Through meetings, phone calls and testimony before the House Budget Review Subcommittee, I’ve repeatedly asked that the Judicial Branch be exempt from the 9 percent cuts in FY 17 and FY 18 that the governor proposed.  In fact, before the special elections for the four vacant House seats, Budget Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Kevin Sinnette, who is an advocate for the courts, reported he was recommending an exemption and full funding for the Judicial Branch budget. But House budget as proposed does not grant us that exemption.   

I am relieved to report that the House version of our budget bill did exempt the Judicial Branch from the 4.5 percent cut for the remainder of FY 2016, which the governor is requiring from many state agencies. 

As for next steps, I expect the full House to vote on our budget bill tomorrow. After that, the bill will go to the Senate, where it will be assigned to the Appropriations & Revenue Committee for further testimony and consideration. I have already been in contact with Senate leadership and will continue to sound the alarm about the impact the proposed reductions would have on the court system and the commonwealth. I will also ask the Senate to exempt the Judicial Branch from further cuts and restore an appropriate level of funding to the court system. 

As always, I appreciate your hard work and support. I will provide budget updates as they become available.
John D. Minton, Jr.
Chief Justice of Kentucky
231 Capitol Building
700 Capitol Avenue
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Telephone 502.564.4162

Warren County Justice Center
1001 Center Street, Suite 305
Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101
Telephone 270.746.7867