Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of shoplifting and other charges and sentencing him to forty years in prison consistent with the jury's recommendation, holding that Defendant's sentence violated the aggregate cap on sentences prescribed by Ky. Rev. Stat. 532.110(1)(c).Six months after Defendant was charged for shoplifting from a Walmart he shoplifted from Rural King. Prior to these shoplifting incidents, both stores gave Defendants notice prohibiting him from being present on the premises. Defendant was convicted of two counts of third-degree burglary, two counts of theft by unlawful taking and being a first-degree persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment in part, holding (1) the trial court erred when it ordered Defendant to serve a sentence that exceeded the maximum aggregate cap delineated in section 532.110(1)(c); (2) the trial court did not err in permitting introduction of evidence of prior instances of shoplifting; and (3) the trial court did not err in permitting the Commonwealth to elicit narration from a certain witness during a video taken by Walmart during trial. View "Kimmel v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the court of appeals and circuit court affirming the decision of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Historic Landmarks & Preservation Districts Commission to approve the application of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government to remove a certain statue, holding that the lower courts erred.In 2018, Louisville Metro filed an application to move a statue located in the historic Cherokee Triangle Preservation District. The application was deemed denied. On appeal, the Commission voted to approve the application. The parties opposing the application filed a complaint and appeal. The circuit court and court of appeals affirmed the Commission's decision. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that certain members of the Commission had a patent conflict of interest in the underlying decision, resulting in a denial of procedural due process. View "Friends of Louisville Public Art, LLC v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Historic Landmarks & Preservation Districts Comm'n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of one count each of murder, receiving stolen property - firearm, and tampering with physical evidence, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief on her claims of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the trial court did not err in admitting testimony that Appellant did not act consistently with someone who truly acted in self-defense; (2) the trial court did not err in denying Appellant's motions for a directed verdict on the murder and tampering with physical evidence charges; (3) the trial court did not err in admitting testimony that Appellant was potentially affiliated with a gang; (4) the Commonwealth's attorney did not commit prosecutorial misconduct; and (5) there was no cumulative error. View "Leavell v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for assault in the first-degree but affirmed his convictions of robbery in the first-degree, violating a domestic violence order, and being a persistent felon in the first-degree and his sentence of life imprisonment, holding that a trial court error required reversal in part.On appeal, Defendant raised numerous claims of error, arguing that the trial court erred by allowing certain testimony via Zoom, permitting a witness to testify despite an alleged discovery violation, and failing to grant a directed verdict on the first-degree assault and first-degree robbery charges, and that the Commonwealth committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the trial court erred in permitting a witness to testify via Zoom, requiring reversal of Defendant's first-degree assault conviction; and (2) Defendant was not entitled to relief on his remaining allegations of error. View "Campbell v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming the opinion and order of an administrative law judge (ALJ) awarding permanent partial disability income and medical benefits to Claimant, holding that there was no error.Claimant alleged that his bilateral knee injuries had been caused by cumulative trauma while working exclusively for Employer as a firefighter and EMT paramedic. Following a final hearing, the ALJ determined that Claimant's bilateral knee condition was caused by work-related cumulative trauma and awarded him benefits. Employer appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the ALJ did not err in finding that Claimant had sustained an "injury" as defined under Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.0011(1); (2) the ALJ's findings regarding causation were supported by substantial evidence; and (3) the ALJ's findings of fact were sufficiently specific. View "Lexington Fayette Urban County Government v. Gosper" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming an administrative law judge's finding that Claimant's total knee replacement was compensable, holding that Claimant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.Claimant injured his knee while at work and received workers' compensation benefits. Claimant continued to experience knee pain after surgery and ultimately underwent a total knee replacement. Employer filed a medical fee dispute, and an ALJ found that the total knee replacement was compensable. The Board and court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the ALJ had sufficient evidence to conclude that Claimant's total knee replacement was reasonable and necessary and was within his discretion to make inferences. View "Perry County Bd. of Education v. Campbell" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Appellants' request for post-conviction relief from their murder convictions, holding that the trial court did not err in denying relief.At issue were three post-conviction collateral attack motions seeking to vacate the murder convictions of three appellants (collectively, Appellants). Appellants requested post-conviction relief on the grounds that the combination jury instructions rendered their verdicts non-unanimous. Specifically, Appellants argued that the instructions ran afoul of the unanimity requirement set forth in Ramos v. Louisiana, 140 S. Ct. 1390 (2020). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in determining that Ramos did not apply retroactively to these cases and that Appellants' claims were time-barred. View "Halvorsen v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's judgment ordering McMichael to pay $62,493 in restitution jointly and severally with his co-defendant after he pled guilty to theft by unlawful taking over $500 but less than $10,000, holding that there was insufficient evidence to support the restitution award.Defendant's conviction stemmed from Defendant and his co-defendant removing several pieces of stainless-steel siding from an old diner and selling them for $155.81. In reversing, the court of appeals concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the restitution amount. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no evidence as to the diner's worth at the time of the theft, the diner's worth after the theft, or the value of the recovered stainless-steel, the case must be remanded for a retrial on restitution. View "Commonwealth v. McMichael" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the federal Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA) was preemptive of Kentucky's Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and that thoroughbreds and the right to breed them are farm products within the meaning of the FSA and, as a result, any security interest in those products was extinguished when they were sold to their respective buyers.The FSA abrogated a common exception in the UCC allowing for a security interest to remain when a farm product pass from seller to buyer. At issue in this case was (1) whether the FSA applies when the product at issue was a thoroughbred horse with particularly valuable breeding rights, and (2) whether breeding rights are farm products within the FSA. The Supreme Court held (1) the FSA preempts Kentucky's farm products exception; and (2) the plain language of the FSA demonstrates that thoroughbred horses are farm products within the meaning of the FSA, and breeding rights are also farm products under the FSA. View "MGG Investment Group LP v. Bemak N.V., Ltd." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Appellant's convictions for first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree persistent felony offender and his sentence of seventeen years in prison, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to give a jury instruction on second-degree wanton endangerment.At issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of second-degree wanton endangerment. The Supreme Court agreed and reversed, holding (1) when a defendant has pled not guilty and restricted his defense to disputing the circumstances of the elements of the crime charged, his uncorroborated testimony in support of that defense will generally merit a jury instruction, but there is no bright-line rule that a defendant has to testify, much less that his testimony be corroborated, to received a lesser-included offense instruction; and (2) because Defendant's uncorroborated testimony in this case was evidence in the record that would support a guilt determination on second-degree wanton endangerment, the trial court erred by not giving that instruction to the jury. View "Taylor v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law