Law Commons^™

Starting Down The Road To Reform: Kentucky's New Long-Arm Statute For Family Obligations, Louise Everett Graham

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Kentucky has long needed a comprehensive family law provision for its long-arm statute. Before the general long-arm statute was amended by the 1992 General Assembly, it addressed only a narrow class of paternity cases among its specific jurisdictional provisions, ignoring the need for long-arm jurisdiction in other domestic relations cases. A second long-arm statute provided jurisdiction over some nonresidents to establish or enforce child support obligations. In the contexts of divorce and child support, Kentucky's failure to claim constitutionally available jurisdiction deprived Kentucky residents of important protection.

Recent amendments to Kentucky statutes fill previous gaps and expand Kentucky's jurisdiction in …

Discovery In Kentucky: An Overview, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Discovery receives short shrift in the law school curriculum. Although students are introduced to the subject in a first year course on Civil Procedure, the "bathtub effect" usually takes its toll by graduation day. That is, after the first year, the plug is pulled and the student's knowledge drains away. Moreover, it is difficult to teach discovery in third year programs on trial advocacy. Too much emphasis on discovery and pretrial would leave too little time for instruction on the mechanics of the actual trial. Even the experienced practitioner may not remember all the intricacies of discovery and may find …

Voir Dire In Kentucky: An Empirical Study Of Voir Dire In Kentucky Circuit Courts, William H. Fortune

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Voir dire is the stage of a jury trial at which prospective jurors are questioned under oath by court or counsel to determine their suitability as jurors in the case to be tried. Kentucky's high court has repeatedly recognized the importance of voir dire to the exercise of for-cause and peremptory challenges.

The trial judge's wide discretion in voir dire, however, necessarily makes a review of appellate decisions of minimal assistance in ascertaining what actually occurs during this important phase of a jury trial. Published opinions provide little guidance in this area; information about voir dire must come from a …

Kentucky Law Survey: Civil Procedure, William H. Fortune

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article provides a survey of civil procedure developments in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The most significant civil procedure case decided by the Kentucky Court of Appeals during the period covered by this Survey is Nazareth Literary and Benevolent Institution v. Stephenson. That case, which deals with discovery of privileged communications, may have created problems that will require legislative action. Other decisions by the Court during this period serve to illustrate and amplify existing procedural points. The more important of these decisions will be briefly discussed prior to the consideration of Stephenson.

Venue Of Civil Actions In Kentucky, William H. Fortune

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The purpose of this paper is primarily to analyze Kentucky’s venue statutes, and secondarily to suggest the path to reform. The paper is divided into four parts. Part I is a brief history of the confusion in Kentucky between jurisdiction and venue. Some exposure to this history is essential to an understanding of the older cases, which in some areas are the only cases in point. Part II is an analysis of the four major venue statutes in KRS Chapter 454: KRS § 452.400—actions involving land; KRS § 452.450-actions against corporations; KRS § 452.460—actions for personal injury or property damage; …