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

Presentation of Judicial Portraits, MCBA Composite, and 50-Year Recognition

Our March 2016 meeting will be held on Monday March 21, 2016, at 12:00 noon in Circuit Courtroom A of the McCracken County Courthouse.  We will have a special presentation honoring retired judges Jeff Hines and Cynthia Sanderson and presenting their portraits for display at the courthouse.  We will also present the McCracken County Bar Association composite photograph.  And we will present a plaque honoring MCBA members who have practiced law for 50 or more years.  A pizza lunch and soft drinks will be provided in the grand jury room at the rear of the circuit courtroom following the presentation.

March 7 Meeting

There might be a discussion about “old dog” cases at our next lunch meeting, which is this Monday, March 7, 2016, due to the cancellation of the February meeting due to inclement weather.  We will begin the meeting 15 minutes early, at 11:45 a.m., due to a special presentation.  Our meeting will take place 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.”

Pete Gullett of Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company of Kentucky will be our speaker.  The topic will be “What Your Office Support Staff and You Need to Know About Your Professional Responsibility for Non-Lawyer Assistants.”  As you know, Mr. Gullett is a colorful and much-in-demand speaker, famous for his “Top Ten” and “old dog” discussions.  This program has already been approved by the Kentucky Bar Association for one full hour of Ethics CLE credit.  Due to the length of the program, we expect to adjourn about 1:15 p.m., so please plan your schedule accordingly if you intend to claim the full hour of ethics credit.    

If you previously responded stating that you intended to come to the February 15 meeting, which was cancelled, then we will continue to keep you on the list for the March 7 meeting. However, please do us the favor of letting us know if your plans have changed and if you cannot attend the March 7 meeting so that we will have an accurate count.  On the other hand, if you did not sign up for the February 15 meeting but would now like to attend the March 7 meeting, then please RSVP to belinda@ml-lawfirm.com by close of business on Thursday, March 3, 2016, so that we can provide an accurate lunch count to Tribeca.