Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court sentencing Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in connection with his conviction for murder, robbery in the first degree, and tampering with physical evidence, holding that there was no error in the sentence.Defendant entered an open guilty plea to the charges against him and then appealed his sentence. At issue was whether Defendant could subsequently appeal on the grounds that his statutorily-authorized sentence should be reversed because there was inadequate consideration given to mitigation evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant waived his right to appeal his sentence; and (2) even if the trial court's sentencing decision were subject to review, the trial court did not err when sentencing Defendant. View "Hayes v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to vacate the judgment convicting her for the murder of her husband, holding that the court of appeals correctly denied Defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim but that, as to all other issues, the court of appeals' decision must be reversed.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the court of appeals did not err in denying Defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim relating to her trial counsel's failure to object to certain erroneous jury instructions; and (2) the court of appeals' use of the manifest injustice standard of review was improper, and the case must be remanded to undertake a review of Defendant's remaining claims utilizing the proper standard of review. View "Ford v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court holding that substantial evidence supported the $200,000 assessment of Kentucky Retirement Systems in actuarial costs against the City of Villa Hills following the retirement of one of its employees, holding that the court of appeals properly resolved all of the City's issues in favor of the Retirement Systems.The Retirement Systems found that increases in the employee's compensation over the five years preceding his retirement was not the direct result of a bona fide promotion or career advancement and so shifted the added actual cost of the retired employee's pension benefits to the City. The circuit court and court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that none of the City's arguments on appeal warranted reversal. View "City of Villa Hills v. Kentucky Retirement Systems" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's order on revocation of probation which ran Defendant's sentence in her Kenton County case sentence consecutive to, rather than concurrent with, her sentence in her Campbell County cases, holding that this case was moot.In 2016, Defendant pled guilty to Kenton Circuit Court to criminal possession of a forged instrument. While still on probation, Defendant committed two additional felonies in Campbell County. The Kenton Circuit Court ultimately revoked Defendant's probation and ordered her incarcerated for three years. The court of appeals reversed, ordering on remand that Defendant's sentences be ordered to run concurrently. The Supreme Court vacated the decision below, holding that the case was moot because Defendant has completed all of her obligations to both Kenton and Campbell Counties. View "Commonwealth v. Collinsworth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that a police officer was entitled to qualified official immunity from liability for the decision to initiate a police pursuit that ended in a fatal automobile accident, holding that that the officer was shielded from liability.The deceased child's estate and the parents of the other injured children in this case initiated civil actions against Defendants, including the officer. The officer moved to dismiss the actions against him on immunity grounds. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that he was not entitled to immunity. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals correctly held that the officer's actions were discretionary and that Appellants did not establish that the officer did not act in good faith. View "Meinhart v. Louisville Metro Government" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's order granting a temporary injunction enjoining Defendants from enforcing against only the individual Plaintiffs multiple specifically enumerated executive orders, administrative regulations, and directives, holding that the trial court erred.Plaintiffs, several businesses, filed suit against the Governor, the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Health, seeking declaratory relief, a temporary injunctions and a permanent injunction regarding the Governor's orders related to COVID-19. The circuit court granted temporary injunctive relief. The Supreme Court vacated the order, holding that the trial court erred by refusing to allow the Governor to call witnesses and present evidence. View "Beshear v. Goodwood Brewing Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting a temporary injunction against implementation of House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 2, and House Joint Resolution 77, which the General Assembly enacted during the 2021 regular session and which amended the Governor's power to respond to emergencies, as granted in Ky. Rev. Stat. 39A, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction.The Governor and the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services filed this declaratory action seeking a declaration that the recently-passed legislation unconstitutionally infringed on the Governor's executive powers under the Kentucky Constitution. The circuit court temporarily enjoined implementation of the challenged legislation. Thereafter, the Governor sought modification of the temporary injunction to cover HJR 77, to which the Attorney General objected. The circuit court granted the request and put on hold the implementation of HJR 77 as well. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) this case presented a justiciable case or controversy; and (2) the temporary injunction was not warranted. View "Cameron v. Beshear" on Justia Law

In this administrative appeal brought by the Kentucky Retirement Systems from the decision of the circuit court in two consolidated cases concerning application of Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.598 the Supreme Court held that the Retirement Systems improperly applied the statute to pay spikes to a certain extent.Section 61-598, commonly known as the pension spiking statute, identifies artificial increases in creditable compensation to public pension-member employees occurring in the last five years preceding retirement, effectively increasing the employee's retirement benefits. In both cases, the alleged spikes were partly due to a change in the Jefferson County Sheriff's office (JCSO) accounting method and partly due to the employees' accrual of overtime hours. The Retirement Systems assessed JCSO for payment increased actuarial costs attributable to the alleged pension spikes. The circuit court reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) an isolated transition in JCSO's new accounting method did not amount to an increase in compensation; (2) the Retirement Systems properly assessed the increased actuarial costs to the extent it was caused by regular overtime work and was not the result of a bona fide promotion or career advancement; and (3) the circuit court erred in reversing the Retirement System's original assignment of the burden of proving a bona fide promotion. View "Kentucky Retirement Systems v. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted motions to dismiss this appeal from the court of appeals' denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus directing Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Olu A. Stevens to rule on a summary judgment motion, holding that the appeal must be dismissed as moot.During the pendency of this appeal, Judge Stevens issued an order granting summary judgment to Louisville Metro Government (LMG) and dismissing with prejudice all claims against it on the grounds of sovereign immunity. The judge rejected the claim of governmental immunity asserted by the other defendant, Parking Authority of River City, Inc. (PARC), based on multiple issues of material fact leading to the denial of its request for summary judgment. PARC, however, was cleared to seek an immediate interlocutory appeal. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal at hand, holding that because the request for a ruling on the summary judgment motion was issued, the need for a writ of mandamus no longer existed. View "Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government v. Honorable Olu A. Stevens" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the court of appeals affirming an order of the circuit court granting Father unsupervised overnight visitation with two minor daughters, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by expanding Father's visitation.After Father confessed to four incidents of inappropriately touching his daughter born from a prior marriage, Mother filed for divorce. The trial court concluded that Father had sexually abused his daughter and ordered supervised visitation for eight hours each Saturday. The court granted sole custody to Mother. Father later filed a third motion for joint custody and increased, unrestricted visitation. The trial court granted Father overnight visitation with the children every other weekend. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the lower courts utilized an incorrect legal standard, thereby requiring reversal. View "Moore v. Moore" on Justia Law