Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Bill Cunningham (Kentucky)
Bill Cunningham was an associate justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court from 2007 to 2019. He was elected in November 2006 to the 1st Supreme Court District seat.[1][2] He was re-elected without opposition in 2014. Cunningham retired on January 31, 2019.[3] To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
Cunningham's professional experience included serving as Eddyville city attorney from 1974 to 1992 and as a public defender for the Kentucky State Penitentiary between 1974 and 1976. Cunningham's son, Joe Cunningham, was also involved in politics and was elected to South Carolina's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House on November 6, 2018.
Education
Cunningham received his undergraduate degree from Murray State University in 1962 and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1969.[1]
Career
- 2007-2019: Associate justice, Kentucky Supreme Court
- 1991-2007: Judge, 56th Judicial Circuit
- 1989-1992: Trial commissioner, Lyon County District Court
- 1981-1985: Hearing officer, Kentucky Board of Claims
- 1976-1988: Commonwealth's Attorney, 56th Judicial Circuit
- 1974-1992: Eddyville City Attorney
- 1974-1976: Public defender, Kentucky State Penitentiary[1]
Elections
2014
- See also: Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2014
Cunningham ran for re-election to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[4]
2006
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Cunningham  |
No | 1st District | 61.3% | |
| Rick Johnson | No | 1st District | 38.7% |
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Cunningham received a campaign finance score of 0.22, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.17 that justices received in Kentucky.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kentucky Supreme Court, "Justice Bill Cunningham," accessed August 7, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Kentucky judges"
- ↑ WKMS, "Bill Cunningham Discusses His Upcoming Retirement," January 17, 2019
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 Primary Election: Justice of the Supreme Court," accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
