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Nominees for District Court judgeship in Metcalfe/Barren

The District Court judicial seat became vacant when District Court Judge John T. Alexander was appointed Circuit Court judge for Barren and Metcalfe counties in December.

By Jamie Neal

Frankfort, KY - The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr., today announced nominees to fill a vacant District Court judgeship in Barren and Metcalfe counties. The counties compose the 43rd Judicial District.

The three nominees for the judgeship are:
  • James Ivan Howard of Edmonton
  • Brian K. Pack of Glasgow
  • John Gabriel Pendleton of Glasgow
Howard has practiced law with the firm of Howard & Howard in Edmonton since 2007. He served as an assistant prosecutor for the Metcalfe County Attorney's Office from 2010-2014 and was a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge from 2006-2007. He received his juris doctor from Duke University School of Law.


Pack has practiced law with the firm of Herbert, Herbert & Pack since 1997. He was a law clerk for several justices of the Supreme Court of Kentucky between 1995 and 1997 and served as a law clerk for Barren County Circuit Court from 1993-1995. He received his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky's College of Law.

Pendleton has been an assistant prosecutor for the Barren County Attorney's Office for 11 years and is a member of the Prosecutor's Advisory Council. He received his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky's College of Law.

District Court
District Court judges handle juvenile matters, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, probate of wills, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, small claims involving $2,500 or less, civil cases involving $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments and cases relating to domestic violence and abuse.

Judicial Nominating Commission
The Judicial Nominating Commission helps fill judicial vacancies by appointment when a vacancy occurs outside of the election cycle. The Kentucky Constitution established the JNC. Ky. Const. S 118; SCR 6.000, et seq.

Judicial Nominating Process
When a judicial vacancy occurs, the executive secretary of the JNC publishes a notice of vacancy in the judicial circuit or the judicial district affected. Attorneys may recommend someone or nominate themselves. The names of the applicants are not released. Once nominations occur, the individuals interested in the position return a questionnaire to the Office of the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Minton then meets with the Judicial Nominating Commission to choose three nominees. Because the Kentucky Constitution requires that three names be submitted to the governor, in some cases the commission submits an attorney's name even though the attorney did not apply. A letter naming the three nominees is sent to the governor for review. The governor has 60 days to appoint a replacement and his office makes the announcement.

Makeup of the Judicial Nominating Commission
The commission has seven members. The membership is comprised of the chief justice of Kentucky (who also serves as chair), two lawyers elected by all the lawyers in their circuit/district and four Kentucky citizens who are appointed by the governor. The four citizens appointed by the governor must equally represent the two major political parties, so two must be Democrats and two must be Republicans. It is the responsibility of the commission to submit a list of three names to the governor and the governor must appoint a judge from this list of three.

Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm for the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of 3,300 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.


This story was posted on 2016-03-15 05:48:24
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