LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – After three decades on the bench and about 16 as Chief Supreme Court Justice in Kentucky, John D. Minton Jr. is retiring at the end of this year.
Minton was only the second chief justice in Kentucky to be chosen to serve four terms.
In the race to take his spot Tuesday night, Court of Appeals Judge Kelly Thompson of Bowling Green beat Bowling Green attorney Shawn Marie Alcott.
Thompson will represent 14 counties in Kentucky’s 2nd Supreme Court District, which includes Bullitt, Hardin, Meade, LaRue, Breckinridge, Grayson and Hart counties. The seven justices will choose his successor as chief justice.
Thompson has been on the court of appeals since 2006.
Other contested Supreme Court races include Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Angela Bisig easily beating attorney Jason Bowman for an open seat in Louisville created by the retirement of Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth Hughes.
Bisig has handled several high-profile cases in her nearly 20 years as a judge, both in circuit and district court.
And a northern Kentucky race pitting incumbent Justice Michelle Keller against Republican State Representative Joe Fischer captured media attention for Fischer’s partisan statements identifying as the “conservative Republican” on the ballot, prompting complaints to the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.
Keller, the incumbent, was first appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2013 and was reelected to an eight-year term in 2014. She beat Fischer handidly.
She represents the 6th District, which takes in 13 counties that stretch from northern Kentucky to Shelby and Oldham counties.
Fischer filed a lawsuit against the Judicial Conduct Commission claiming his First Amendment rights were being violated.
The state commission, which enforces judicial conduct, wrote on Sept. 27 that it was investigating Fischer for possible campaign violations involving promoting his political party affiliation and discussing opinions on certain issues that might come before him, including abortion.
Fischer challenged a rule forbidding judges and judicial candidates from publicly identifying themselves as a nominee of a political organization or seeking endorsements from a political organization.
Fischer has, for example, used an elephant on his campaign materials, though he argues it is a “generic elephant,” not the Republican party logo.
Signs promoting Fischer saying, “Choose Life,” were not put up by his campaign, but by supporters, according to the suit.
Fischer acknowledges he has signs indicating he is the “conservative Republican” in the race while also listing GOP endorsements, support from anti-abortion groups and upcoming fundraisers on his Facebook campaign page.
But, according to the lawsuit, Fischer “has never, in the course of his campaign, made a promise or pledge to rule a particular way regarding any particular party, particular case, or particular controversy.”
And Fischer “has the right to state his position on issues,” the suit argues.
Two complaints were filed against Fischer to the Judicial Conduct Commission claiming he engaged in improper campaign activity, including discussing controversial issues that could come before him as a judge. Documents in the lawsuit don't identify who lodged the complaints.
"The complaints allege that you have engaged in political or campaign activity inconsistent with the independence, integrity or impartiality of the judiciary," according to the letter.
In the Sept. 27 letter, the six-member commission requested a response from Fischer to the allegations and an informal meeting on October 28.
But a federal judge granted an injunction against the commission doing anything before the election.
If Fischer should lose the election, according to the suit, “he intends to run for judicial office again, and again engage in the same speech.”
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