Kentucky judicial elections, 2014

Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
Overview
Total candidates:	389
Primary candidates:	98
General election candidates:	347
Incumbency
Incumbents:	255
Incumbent success rate:	97%
Competition - general election
Percent of candidates in contested races:	38%
Percent uncontested:	62%

2015 → ← 2013
Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

Kentucky judicial elections are nonpartisan elections. Almost 400 candidates ran in Kentucky's general election on November 4, 2014. About half of them were unopposed, while the other half battled it out in contested races. There was one seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court up for election, which was easily won by the incumbent. See 2014 election summary, Kentucky for an overview of this state's judicial election results.

Election dates

• January 28: Filing deadline
• May 20: Primary
• November 4: General election

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

Want to learn more about the biggest judicial election in Kentucky in 2014? Check out the Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2014 page for an in-depth exploration of the candidates, issues, politics and news surrounding the state's high court race.

General election: Contested races

(I) denotes incumbent

Kentucky Supreme Court, 6th District

• Michelle Keller (I), 58.4%A
• Teresa L. Cunningham, 41.6%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 2nd District, 2nd Division

• Kelly Thompson (I), 70%A
• Mark H. Flener, 30%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 3rd District, 1st Division

• Debra Hembree Lambert, 53.4%A
• Michael Caperton (I), 46.6%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 3rd District, 2nd Division

• James Lambert (I), 70%A
• Paul F. Henderson, 30%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 4th District, 2nd Division

• Denise Clayton (I), 72.4%A
• Stan Whetzel, 27.6%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 6th District, 1st Division

• Allison Jones (I), 60.8%A
• Justin Sanders, 39.2%A

Kentucky Court of Appeals, 7th District, 2nd Division

• Janet Stumbo (I), 64.5%A
• W. Kent Varney, 35.5%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 5, 2nd Division

• Ben Leonard, 49.8%A
• Brandi Hagan Rogers, 50.2%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 8, 3rd Division

• David Lanphear, 52.4%A
• Rebecca Adams Simpson, 47.6%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 9, 1st Division

• Dawn Lonneman Blair, 49%A
• Pamela K. Addington (I), 51%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 12, 2nd Division

• Michael Pate, 35.9%A
• Tim Feeley (I), 64.1%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 13, 2nd Division

• Jackie Horn, 48.1%A
• Jeff Moss, 51.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 14, 2nd Division

• Ethyle Noel, 27.8%A
• Paul F. Isaacs (I), 72.2%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 14, 3rd Division

• Lisa Hart Morgan, 57%A
• Tamra Gormley (I), 43%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 15, Seat 1

• John Brent Threlkeld, 43.7%A
• R. Leslie Knight, 56.3%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 16, 1st Division

• James T. Redwine, 41.5%A
• Kathy Lape, 58.5%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 16, 2nd Division

• Carl E. Knochelmann Jr., 48.6%A
• Christopher J. Mehling (I), 51.4%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 16, 5th Division

• Lisa Osborne Bushelman (I), 54.6%A
• Stephanie A. Dietz, 45.4%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 18, 2nd Division

• Heather Fryman, 71.1%A
• Sam W. Arnold III, 28.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 22, 2nd Division

• John P. Schrader (I), 44.3%A
• Traci H. Boyd, 55.7%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 22, 6th Division

• Jennifer McVay Martin, 37.5%A
• Kathy Stein (I), 62.5%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 23, Seat 1

• Heather Combs, 42.5%A
• Michael Dean, 57.5%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 26, Seat 1

• Henry S. Johnson (I), 49.0%A
• Kent Hendrickson, 51.0%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 27, 3rd Division

• Marilyn Benge McGhee, 47.2%A
• Stephen M. Jones, 52.8%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 28, 3rd Division

• Bruce Wayne Singleton, 37.1%A
• Marcus Vanover (I), 62.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 13th Division

• Ann Bailey Smith (I), 61%A
• Sandy Berman, 39%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 1st Division

• Barry Willett (I), 62.1%A
• Stuart Pearlman, 37.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 1st Division Family Court

• Angela Johnson, 57%A
• Lauren Adams Ogden, 43%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 3rd Division Family Court

• Deborah Deweese, 72%A
• Ellie Garcia Kerstetter, 28%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 5th Division Family Court

• Stuart A. Scherer, 28.4%A
• Tara Hagerty, 71.6%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 6th Division Family Court

• A. Christine Ward, 67.4%A
• Stephanie L. Morgan-White, 32.6%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 7th Division Family Court

• Denise Brown, 60.5%A
• Dennis C. Burke, 39.5%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 30, 8th Division Family Court

• Deana McDonald, 69.8%A
• Mark Hyatt Gaston Sr., 30.2%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 31, 2nd Division

• Ashley Tackett Laferty, 49.7%A
• Thomas M. Smith, 50.3%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 32, 1st Division

• George W. Davis III (I), 69.1%A
• Marc I. Rosen, 30.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 33, Seat 1

• Alison C. Wells, 53%A
• Scott Blair, 47%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 39, 2nd Division

• Larry Miller (I), 50.7%A
• Samuel Bruce Herald, 49.3%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 40, Seat 1

• David Williams (Kentucky) (I), 53.1%A
• Steve D. Hurt, 46.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 53, 2nd Division

• John David Myles (I), 36.9%A
• Marie Hellard, 63.1%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 54, 1st Division

• Marcia L. Thomas, 43.1%A
• Rick A. Brueggemann, 56.9%A

Kentucky Circuit Court 57, 2nd Division

• Jennifer Upchurch Edwards (I), 61.1%A
• Matthew B. DeHart, 38.9%A

Kentucky District Court 2, 2nd Division

• Chris Hollowell (I), 65.3%A
• Craig F. Newbern Jr., 34.7%A

Kentucky District Court 3, 2nd Division

• J. Foster Cotthoff, 62.7%A
• Richard Boling, 37.3%A

Kentucky District Court 4, 2nd Division

• Bill Whitledge (I), 69.6%A
• Karey Roy Deardorff, 30.4%A

Kentucky District Court 7, Seat 1

• Kenneth R. Williams, Jr., 75.4%A
• Nancy E. Calloway, 24.6%A

Kentucky District Court 14, 2nd Division

• Chad Wells, 38.7%A
• Vanessa M. Dickson (I), 61.3%A

Kentucky District Court 16, 1st Division

• Ann Ruttle (I), 56.3%A
• Christopher Nordloh, 43.7%A

Kentucky District Court 17, 1st Division

• Cameron J. Blau, 38.6%A
• Gregory T. Popovich (I), 61.4%A

Kentucky District Court 19, Seat 1

• Frank H. McCartney (I), 54.9%A
• Steven Royse Zweigart, 45.1%A

Kentucky District Court 24, 1st Division

• John T. Chafin, 50.2%A
• Paul L. Pack, 49.8%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 11th Division

• Gina Kay Calvert (I), 54%A
• Susan Jones, 46%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 12th Division

• Eric Haner (I), 56.5%A
• James Michael Green, 43.5%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 13th Division

• Ann Schiavone Dyke, 41.7%A
• Anne Delahanty, 58.3%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 14th Division

• Andre L. Bergeron, 34.5%A
• Stephanie Pearce Burke (I), 65.5%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 16th Division

• Claudia Ann Smith, 38.8%A
• Katie King (I), 61.2%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 17th Division

• Dana Michelle Cohen, 45%A
• Erica Lee Williams (I), 55%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 1st Division

• Annette Karem (I), 58.4%A
• Nichole Taylor Compton, 41.6%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 2nd Division

• Amber B. Wolf, 55.9%A
• Josh P. Schneider, 44.1%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 3rd Division

• Matthew K. Eckert, 43.9%A
• Sandra L. McLaughlin (I), 56.1%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 5th Division

• Donald E. Armstrong Jr. (I), 45.4%A
• Jennifer Leibson, 54.6%A

Kentucky District Court 30, 8th Division

• David P. Bowles (I), 51.6%A
• Josephine Layne Buckner, 48.4%A

Kentucky District Court 37, Seat 1

• H. Rupert Wilhoit III (I), 74.2%A
• John Preston Thompson, 25.8%A

Kentucky District Court 41, 1st Division

• Allen B. Roberts, 58.5%A
• Monica Rice-Smith, 41.5%A

Kentucky District Court 53, 2nd Division

• Donna G. Dutton (I), 73.1%A
• Emily Farrar-Crockett, 26.9%A

Kentucky District Court 60, Seat 1

• Kristi Renee Castillo (I), 69.9%A
• Stephen H. Poindexter, 30.1%A

General election: Uncontested

The following candidates ran unopposed in the general election.

Appellate courts

Court	Candidate
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Kentucky Supreme Court	Bill Cunningham (Kentucky)
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Christopher Nickell
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Donna Dixon
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Glenn Acree
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Irv Maze
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Jeff Taylor (Kentucky)
Kentucky Supreme Court	John D. Minton, Jr.
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Joy Moore
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Laurance VanMeter
Kentucky Supreme Court	Lisabeth Tabor Hughes
Kentucky Court of Appeals	Sara Combs

Trial courts

Court	Candidate
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
30th Judicial Circuit	A. C. McKay Chauvin
11th Judicial Circuit	Allan Ray Bertram
11th District Court	Amy S. Anderson
3rd Judicial Circuit	Andrew C. Self
30th Judicial Circuit	Angela McCormick Bisig
30th District Court	Anne Haynie
30th Judicial Circuit	Audra Jean Eckerle
21st Judicial Circuit	Beth Lewis Maze
25th District Court	Brandy O. Brown
9th Judicial Circuit Court	Brent Hall
8th District Court	Brent J. Potter
30th Judicial Circuit	Brian C. Edwards
20th District Court	Brian C. McCloud
45th District Court	Brian Crick
45 Judicial Circuit	Brian Wiggins
50th Judicial Circuit	Bruce Petrie
46th Judicial Circuit	Bruce T. Butler
56th Judicial Circuit	C. A. Woodall III
32nd Judicial Circuit	C. David Hagerman
10th District Court	C. Derek Reed
Fifth Circuit	C. Rene Williams
8th Judicial Circuit Court	Catherine Rice Holderfield
34th District Court	Cathy E. Prewitt
10th Judicial Circuit	Charles C. Simms III
30th Judicial Circuit	Charles L. Cunningham Jr.
53rd Judicial Circuit	Charles R. Hickman
51st District Court	Charles R. McCollom III
54th District Court	Charles T. Moore
25th District Court	Charles W. Hardin
18th District Court	Charles W. Kuster Jr.
48th District Court	Chris Olds
11th District Court	Connie S. Phillips
Second Judicial Circuit	Craig Z. Clymer
2nd Circuit Court	Cynthia E. Sanderson
34th Judicial Circuit	Daniel Ballou
6th District Court	Daniel M. Burlew
5th District Court	Daniel M. Heady
35th District Court	Darrel H. Mullins
50th Judicial Circuit	Darren W. Peckler
28th Judicial Circuit	David A. Tapp
6th District Court	David C. Payne
37th Judicial Circuit	David D. Flatt
4th District Court	David G. Massamore
30th District Court	David L. Holton II
52nd District Court	Deborah Hawkins Crooks
36th District Court	Dennis B. Prater
42nd Judicial Circuit	Dennis R. Foust
12th District Court	Diana E. Wheeler
30th Judicial Circuit	Dolly Wisman Berry
21st District Court	Don Blair
16th District Court	Douglas J. Grothaus
31st Judicial Circuit	Dwight Stacy Marshall
25th District Court	Earl-Ray Neal
35th Judicial Circuit	Eddy Coleman
55th Judicial Circuit	Elise Givhan Spainhour
15th District Court	Elizabeth Chandler Lester
31st District Court	Eric D. Hall
22nd Judicial Circuit	Ernesto Scorsone
39th Judicial Circuit	Frank A. Fletcher
17th Judicial Circuit	Fred A. Stine
34th District Court	Fred F. White
41st Judicial Circuit	Gene Clark
32nd District Court	Gerald B. Reams Jr.
27th Judicial Circuit	Gregory A. Lay
16th Judicial Circuit	Gregory Bartlett
41st District Court	Henria Bailey-Lewis
30th Judicial Circuit	Hugh Smith Haynie, Jr.
1st District Court	Hunter B. Whitesell II
13th Judicial Circuit	Hunter Daugherty
53rd District Court	J.R. RoBards
58th District Court	Jack M. Telle
10th Judicial Circuit	Jack Seay
4th Judicial Circuit Court	James Brantley
22nd Judicial Circuit	James D. Ishmael, Jr.
3rd District Court	James G. Adams
40th District Court	James M. Lawson
56th District Court	James R. Redd III
54th Judicial Circuit	James R. Schrand
13th District Court	Janet C. Booth
49th Judicial Circuit	Janet J. Crocker
24th Judicial Circuit	Janie McKenzie-Wells
3rd Judicial Circuit Court	Jason Shea Fleming
6th Judicial Circuit	Jay A. Wethington
18th Judicial Circuit	Jay Delaney
25th Judicial Circuit	Jean C. Logue
50th District Court	Jeff L. Dotson
54th District Court	Jeff Smith (Kentucky)
26th District Court	Jeffrey J. Brock
20th Judicial Circuit	Jeffrey L. Preston
25th Judicial Circuit	Jeffrey M. Walson
28th District Court	Jeffrey Scott Lawless
28th Judicial Circuit	Jeffrey T. Burdette
30th District Court	Jennifer Bryant Wilcox
55th District Court	Jennifer E. Porter
12th District Court	Jerry D. Crosby
56th District Court	Jill Clark (Kentucky)
30th Judicial Circuit	Jim Shake
31st District Court	Jimmy Marcum
8th District Court	John B. Brown
9th District Court	John D. Simcoe
24th Judicial Circuit	John David Preston
24th District Court	John Kevin Holbrook
3rd Judicial Circuit	John L. Atkins
38th District Court	John M. McCarty
27th District Court	John Paul Chappell
8th Judicial Circuit	John R. Grise
57th District Court	John S. Kelley V
43rd District Court	John T. Alexander
Thirty-First Judicial Circuit	Johnny Ray Harris
6th Judicial Circuit	Joseph Castlen
22nd District Court	Joseph T. Bouvier
30th Judicial Circuit	Judith McDonald-Burkman
29th Judicial Circuit	Judy D. Vance
22nd District Court	Julie Muth Goodman
17th Judicial Circuit	Julie Reinhardt Ward
12th Judicial Circuit	Karen A. Conrad
17th District Court	Karen A. Thomas
51st Judicial Circuit	Karen L. Wilson
28th District Court	Kathryn G. Wood
48th District Court	Kathy R. Mangeot
9th Judicial Circuit	Kelly Mark Easton
35th District Court	Kelsey E. Friend
9th Judicial Circuit	Ken M. Howard
46th District Court	Kenneth Harold Goff, II
16th District Court	Kenneth L. Easterling
39th District Court	Kenneth R. Profitt
47th District Court	Kevin R. Mullins
36th Judicial Circuit	Kim Cornett Childers
22nd District Court	Kim Wilkie
22nd Judicial Circuit	Kimberly Nell Bunnell
9th District Court	Kimberly W. Shumate
35th Judicial Circuit	Larry E. Thompson
33rd District Court	Leigh Anne Stephens
54th Judicial Circuit	Linda Rae Bramlage
6th District Court	Lisa P. Jones
59th District Court	Louis Keith Myers
22nd Judicial Circuit	Lucinda Masterton
49th District Court	Martha Blair Harrison
14th District Court	Mary Jane Phelps
30th Judicial Circuit	Mary M. Shaw
22nd District Court	Megan Lake Thornton
29th District Court	Michael Loy
38th Judicial Circuit	Michael McKown
30th District Court	Michele B. Stengel
30th Judicial Circuit	Mitch Perry
25th Judicial Circuit	Nora J. Shepherd
30th Judicial Circuit	Olu A. Stevens
41st Judicial Circuit	Oscar Gayle House
22nd Judicial Circuit	Pamela R. Goodwine
16th Judicial Circuit	Patricia M. Summe
34th Judicial Circuit	Paul K. Winchester
30th Judicial Circuit	Paula Sherlock
43rd Judicial Circuit	Phillip R. Patton
48th Judicial Circuit	Phillip Shepherd
42nd District Court	Randall A. Hutchens
37th Judicial Circuit	Rebecca K. Phillips
55th District Court	Rebecca S. Ward
38th District Court	Renona C. Browning
17th Judicial Circuit	Richard A. Woeste
42nd Judicial Circuit	Rob Mattingly
46th Judicial Circuit	Robert A. Miller (Kentucky)
20th Judicial Circuit	Robert Conley
14th Judicial Circuit	Robert Johnson (Kentucky)
51st District Court	Robert K. Wiederstein
44th Judicial Circuit	Robert V. Costanzo
44th District Court	Robert Yoakum
55th Judicial Circuit	Rodney D. Burress
38th Judicial Circuit	Ronnie C. Dortch
8th District Court	Sam Potter, Jr.
47th Judicial Circuit	Samuel T. Wright III
11th Judicial Circuit	Samuel Todd Spalding
40th District Court	Scarlett B. Latham
32nd District Court	Scott Taylor Reese
30th District Court	Sean R. Delahanty
46th District Court	Shan F. Embry
30th District Court	Sheila A. Collins
51st Judicial Circuit	Sheila N. Farris
49th Judicial Circuit	Sid Broderson
48th Judicial Circuit	Squire Needham Williams III
30th Judicial Circuit	Stephen M. George
8th Judicial Circuit	Steve Alan Wilson
35th Judicial Circuit	Steven D. Combs
19th Judicial Circuit	Stockton B. Wood
30th Judicial Circuit	Susan Schultz Gibson
4th Judicial Circuit Court	Susan Wesley McClure
22nd District Court	T. Bruce Bell
48th Judicial Circuit	Thomas D. Wingate
22nd Judicial Circuit	Thomas L. Clark
15th District Court	Thomas M. Funk
Second Judicial Circuit	Tim Kaltenbach
First Judicial Circuit	Timothy A. Langford
Fifty-Second Circuit	Timothy C. Stark
22nd Judicial Circuit	Timothy N. Philpot
27th Judicial Circuit	Tom Jensen
7th Judicial Circuit	Tyler L. Gill
57th Judicial Circuit	Vernon Miniard Jr.
2nd District Court	W. A. Kitchen
43rd Judicial Circuit	W. Mitchell Nance
27th District Court	Wendell Lewis "Skip" Hammons Jr.
23rd District Court	William "Bo" Leach
21st Judicial Circuit	William E. Lane
25th Judicial Circuit	William G. Clouse Jr.
13th District Court	William Oliver (Kentucky)
21st District Court	William W. Roberts

Primary

For candidate lists and results from the judicial primary on May 20, 2014, please see: Kentucky judicial primary elections, 2014.

Process

Judges in Kentucky participate in nonpartisan elections.

All candidates participate in the primaries. If more than two candidates compete in a race, the two with the highest number of votes advance to the general election.

Qualifications

Candidates seeking election to a judicial office in Kentucky must:

• Be a United States citizen, a Kentucky resident, and a resident of the district to which they are seeking election for at least 2 years;
• Be licensed to practice law in the state of Kentucky; and
• Be a licensed attorney for at least 8 years if seeking election to the Kentucky Supreme Court, the Kentucky Court of Appeals, or the Kentucky Circuit Courts); 4 years if seeking election to the Kentucky District Courts

All judicial candidates must pay a filing fee of $200.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

Candidate challenges Kentucky election process July 31, 2014

Click for story→

Attorney Robert A. Winter, Jr., a candidate for Kenton Family Court in Kentucky, filed a lawsuit against the state’s judicial conduct commission in 2014, challenging the state’s restrictions on partisan identification in nonpartisan judicial races. During his campaign for the May primary, Winter sent out 12 mailers, six of which identified him as a Republican and labeled three of his opponents as Democrats. Although Winter did not advance in the primary—losing to Kathy Lape and James T. Redwine—he received notice that three complaints had been filed against him for violating nonpartisan campaign rules. In response, Winter sued the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission, citing a 2010 federal appeals court ruling from the Ohio federal appeals courtaffirming judicial candidates’ First Amendment rights to identify with political parties in nonpartisan races. He argued that Kentucky’s ethics rules were unconstitutional and requested that the court prevent the commission from sanctioning him. Legal analysts noted that the case illustrated the tension between efforts to preserve nonpartisanship in judicial elections and evolving interpretations of free speech protections. Kentucky has held nonpartisan judicial elections since 1975. Jefferson District Judge Stephanie Pearce Burke expressed concern that openly partisan campaigns could erode public trust in judicial neutrality. Winter’s attorney, Christopher Wiest, countered that party labels offered voters insight into a candidate’s legal philosophy.

Winners advance in Jefferson County May 22, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Don't discount the primaries! Many races already concluded For the May 20 primaries, voter turnout in Jefferson County, Kentucky’s most populous county, was reported at a little less than 20 percent. Most voters cast their votes in favor of the county’s incumbent judges. The three most contested races were those for the judgeships in Division 1, 2 and 12 of the 30th District Court. In the race for Division 1, incumbent Annette Karem defeated her two opponents Brendan Joseph McLeod and Nichole Taylor Compton. She ran against second place finisher, Compton, a practicing attorney and motivational speaker, in the November general election. In Division 12, James Michael Green, a former judge who previously served 13 years in the contested seat, finished ahead of the incumbent Eric Haner. They both defeated their third opponent, Charles J. Adkins and faced off again in November. Three attorneys vied for Division 2, a seat being vacated by Judge Ann Bailey Smith, who withdrew from the race early on. Candidates Amber B. Wolf and Joseph P. Schneider defeated Derwin L. Webb for spots on the November ballot. In the Jefferson County Family Court race, a number of new candidates vied for six of the 10 seats up for election. In Division I, Angela Johnson, a prosecutor, finished with the most votes, followed by family law attorney Lauren Adams Ogden. Tara Hagerty and Stuart A. Scherer moved on to compete for the Division 5 seat in November. In Division 6, long-time family law attorneys, A. Christine Ward and Stephanie L. Morgan-White, moved on to compete in the general election. Former prosecutor, Denise Brown, as well as, Dennis Burke, an attorney and child advocate, took first and second place in the primary for the Division 7 seat. In Division 8, incumbent Deana McDonald won. She moved ahead with second place finisher, Mark Hyatt Gaston Sr.

Retired judge sues for a chance to become a judge again February 20, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Wisconsin primary concludes as the rest of the nation is just heating up In February 2014, a retired judge filed a lawsuit aiming to overturn a Kentucky law that would prevent him from running for office. Steve D. Hurt was seeking to run for election to the 40th Judicial Circuit Court, and challenged the constitutionality of HB 427, a law passed in 2013 that stated senior retired judges were ineligible to become candidates or nominees for any elected office for five years after their retirement. The law, proposed by State Representative Kevin Sinnette of Ashland, was intended to prevent judges receiving retirement income and employment income at the same time, according to Sinnette. Hurt retired from a district court judgeship in 2009. Hurt claimed that the eligibility requirements for candidates for elected office in Kentucky were already laid out in the Kentucky constitution, and alleged that the law in question violated his constitutional rights. The constitution identifies U.S. citizenship, licensure to practice law in Kentucky, and residency in the location where he/she would be serving for two years prior to the date of taking office as the key requirements for judicial candidates. For some positions, such as the circuit court judgeship, eligible candidates must also have been a licensed attorney for at least eight years prior to the date he/she would take office. Hurt’s attorney, James L. Deckard, also argued that the law should be struck down because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by creating an unlawful distinction as to who is eligible to run for office. Hurt filed papers with the Kentucky Secretary of State to run for office on January 28th and filed the lawsuit days later.

See also

• Kentucky judicial elections
• Judicial selection in Kentucky

External links

• Kentucky State Board of Elections

Footnotes

Kentucky courts

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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