FRANKFORT, Ky., April 24, 2024 – Daviess County Chief Circuit Judge Lisa Payne Jones will be sworn in as a Court of Appeals judge Monday, April 29, at the Morton J. Holbrook Judicial Center in Owensboro. The public and media are invited to the investiture ceremony at 1:30 p.m. CDT in the Circuit Courtroom on the fourth floor of the judicial center at 100 E. Second St.
The governor appointed Judge Jones on April 15 to serve as the Court of Appeals judge for the 23 Western Kentucky counties of the 1st Appellate District, Division 2. The judicial seat became vacant when Judge Donna L. Dixon retired effective Nov. 20, 2023. Judge Jones was appointed to serve until a candidate is elected to the judgeship this November.
“I’m honored by the appointment and eager to begin the duties of my new position,” Judge Jones said. “My experience as a trial court judge and Specialty Court judge has given me an understanding of the legal issues that will come before the court and the personal struggles facing the citizens of Kentucky. I’m excited to assume the duties entrusted to me and am mindful of the tremendous responsibility of the role.”
Fellow Western Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Jeff S. Taylor (2nd Appellate District, Division 1) will administer the oath of office to Judge Jones.
The counties in the 1st Appellate District are Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Union and Webster.
Judge Jones was the first woman to be elected to the judicial bench in Daviess County. With over 22 years of judicial experience, she has served at both the circuit and district levels. In addition to her normal duties, she presides over Daviess County Drug Court and Mental Health Court and serves as a member of the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health.
The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Court of Appeals selected Judge Jones in March as one of three nominees for the governor to consider appointing to fill the vacancy.
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals, along with the Supreme Court of Kentucky, was formed after the 1975 enactment of the Judicial Article that created Kentucky’s unified court system. Fourteen judges, two elected from each of the seven appellate districts, serve on the Court of Appeals for terms of eight years.
Nearly all cases heard by the Court of Appeals come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in Circuit Court or District Court and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court’s decisions. Some cases, such as criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. With a few exceptions, most cases appealed from Circuit Court go to the Court of Appeals. The case is not retried at the appeals level. Instead, the original trial record is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision.
Court of Appeals judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority deciding the outcome. The panels do not sit permanently in one location but travel throughout the state to hear appeals. When the Court of Appeals publishes its rulings on cases, those rulings become the governing case law for all such similar cases in the trial courts of Kentucky.
Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts is the operations arm of the Judicial Branch (Kentucky Court of Justice) and is based in Frankfort. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 employees and 413 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks and executes the Judicial Branch budget.
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