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Phillip Shepherd
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Phillip Shepherd is the chief circuit court judge for the 48th Judicial Circuit. It serves Franklin County in Kentucky.[1]
Shepherd began serving on the court in November 2006 and was re-elected without opposition in 2014.[2][3] His current eight-year term expires on January 1, 2023.[4]
Elections
2014
See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
Shepherd ran for re-election to the 48th Judicial Circuit.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[3]
Education
Shepherd received his undergraduate degree in history from Asbury University in 1977 and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1980.[5]
Career
- 2006-2023: Judge, 48th Judicial Circuit
- 1997-2006: Attorney, Phillip J. Shepherd, Attorney-At-Law
- 1996-1997: Attorney, Newberry Hargrove & Rambicure
- 1994-2001: Federal commissioner, Ohio River Sanitation Commission
- 1991-1995: Secretary of Natural Resources & Environmental Protection, Commonwealth of Kentucky
- 1984-1991: Attorney, Shepherd & Childers
- 1983: Attorney, Stites & Harbison
- 1982-1983: Attorney, Prichard, Stallard & Shepherd
- 1980-1982: Law clerk to Judge Edward Johnstone of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky[6]
Noteworthy events
Removal from teacher sick-out case (2019)
On September 27, 2019, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr. removed Shepherd from overseeing a lawsuit filed by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) related to the 2018 teacher sick-outs. Shepherd had previously declined calls from Gov. Matt Bevin (R) to recuse himself from the case because Shepherd liked a post on Facebook that featured volunteers for Beshear's gubernatorial campaign.[7]
In a statement, Minton said he believed Shepherd could have presided over the case in “a completely fair, neutral and unbiased manner.” He said that the state's standard for disqualification requires it in cases where the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned," and does not necessarily require proof of bias. He also called the case a cautionary tale for all judges using social media.[7]
See also
External links
- Kentucky Court of Justice, "Circuit Court Overview"
- The State Journal, "Judge Awarded for Open Records Ruling," January 22, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Kentucky Circuit Court Judges," accessed November 11, 2014
- ↑ Business Week, "Executive Profile: Phillip J. Shepherd," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 Primary Election: Circuit Judge," accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑ Judicial selection in Kentucky
- ↑ Kentucky Wesleyan College, "Judge Phillip J. Shepherd, Profile," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Judges 2006, "Phillip J. Shepherd, Circuit Court 48th Circuit, First Division" (Broken)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lexington Herald-Leader, "Bevin gets judge removed from teacher sick-out case over Facebook ‘like,'" September 27, 2019
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
