30 May Bored by the Family Cases? There’s More to the Round Up
The Court of Appeals had a slow week — at least in the area of Family Law cases – during the week of May 17. There was only one case, and, in all candor, it was a snoozer. On the other hand, the Court turned its attention to other cases of interest to the general public so we will detail those as well.
Andrew Clyncke v. Jodie Clyncke, 2023-CA-0827
Let’s start with the Round Up’s bread and butter case – a standard divorce appeal. Andy and Jodie fell in love, were married, fell out of love, and then fought about property issues. Your classic fairy tale.
Both claimed that the other was taking stuff from the farm, including livestock. There was a trial, and the Russell County Family Court divided the assets. Andy didn’t like the decision, so he appealed the Family Court’s opinion. He claimed that he had adequately traced his “non-marital” contributions; however, the Court of Appeals noted that the Family Court was not required to accept his version of events. Therefore, it was not surprising that Andy lost again at the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge Eckerle, also noted that Andy failed to identify his specific requests for relief, and the Court was NOT going to search the record to locate Andy’s proof for him. The Opinion also notes that Andy failed to request specific findings on his arguments on dissipation. Divorce lawyers should be keenly aware of the trend toward strict compliance with post-trial motions for more specific findings. Unreported. http://opinions.kycourts.net/COA/2023-CA-000827.PDF
Outside the Family
The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the firing of Miles Cosgrove. Office Cosgrove was the LMPD policeman who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. The LMPD fired him for killing Taylor. Specifically, the Merit Board found that Cosgrove should not have fired at her as he could not see her, or identify whether she was a threat. He also failed to wear his body cam. (This seems to be an ongoing problem with Louisville police officers.) The Court of Appeals found the firing of the officer was well-deserved and that Cosgrove’s self-defense argument did not apply to administrative hearings. http://opinions.kycourts.net/COA/2023-CA-000340.PDF
In Political Arena
The Court of Appeals addressed two cases involving political races. First, the Court denied a request to keep Representative Thomas Massie off the ballot filed by Eric Deters. Secondly, the Court of Appeals kicked Louisville candidate Nirupama Kulkarni off the ballot due to a technicality; however, the Supreme Court ruled that she could stay on the ballot. Election law in KY is always interesting.
Criminal Tally
Finally, the weekly criminal tally was bleak for the criminal defendants. The police won 5 cases while the defendants were shut out. Notwithstanding the hot streak, the Louisville Police Department continued embarrassing itself by arresting the world’s number one golfer and all-around good guy, Scottie Sheffler. Stay tuned on this developing story.