FRANKFORT, Ky., Sept. 9, 2026 – To educate people about the courts, the Supreme Court of Kentucky will hear its September oral arguments at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, outside the court’s traditional setting at the Capitol in Frankfort. The justices will hear cases at 10 and 11:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 16-17. Proceedings are open to the public and will take place at Ransdell Chapel, 401 N. Hoskins Ave.
Proceedings will also be available online live and as a recording at https://kcoj.info/SupremeCourtKET.
The justices normally hear arguments in the historic Supreme Court Courtroom at the Capitol, but the building closed in August 2025 for a multiyear renovation. During the closure, the court is hearing arguments in other locations to give more people – students, especially – the opportunity to observe its work. The court has heard arguments at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, the University of the Cumberlands, Western Kentucky University, Centre College, the Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse in Lexington, the Paramount Theater in Ashland and at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. See the court’s oral argument schedule by month at https://kcoj.info/SupremeCourtOA.
The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals that come before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion to be published, which means that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky.
Oral Arguments
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16
10 a.m. EDT
DEMETRIUS NORTHERN-ALLISON V. JOHN SEYMOUR, ET AL. (2024-SC-0325-DG)
Access links to briefs at https://kcoj.info/SCSept2026.
Torts. Excessive Force. Police Officers. Qualified Official Immunity. Procedure. Collateral Estoppel. Guilty Plea to Resisting Arrest. Issues include: (1) whether the Court of Appeals correctly resolved the case on collateral estoppel grounds when the previous appellate panel remanded the case to circuit court for consideration of qualified immunity; and (2) whether the circuit court correctly found that the police officers acted in good faith for purposes of immunity when the plaintiff testified that the officers broke his orbital bone with the butt of a gun before he began resisting arrest.
Goodwine, J., not sitting
Discretionary Review Granted: March 12, 2025
Trial Court(s): Jefferson Circuit Court
Presiding Judge(s): Hon. Mitchell Perry
Counsel for Appellant, Demetrius Northern-Allison: Sam Aguiar and Sara Collins – Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers
Counsel for Appellant, John Seymour, et al.: Peter Ervin, Kathryn Goodwin, John Harrison and Susan Rivera – Jefferson County Attorney’s Office
11:30 a.m. EDT
CHRISTOPHER JACKSON V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY (2024-SC-0538-MR)
Access links to briefs at https://kcoj.info/SCSept2026.
Criminal law. Murder. Statutory construction. Double jeopardy. Issues include (1) whether enactment of vehicular homicide statute, KRS 507.060, precluded Commonwealth’s ability to charge defendant with wanton murder pursuant to KRS 507.020(1)(b) in fatal automobile accident; and (2) whether convictions of wanton murder and driving under the influence with aggravating circumstances based on the same conduct constituted double jeopardy violation.
Oral Argument Granted: August 14, 2026
Trial Court(s): Kenton Circuit Court
Presiding Judge(s): Hon. Patricia Summe
Counsel for Appellant, Christopher Jackson: Jennifer Hubbard – Department of Public Advocacy
Counsel for Appellee, Commonwealth of Kentucky: Kenneth Riggs – Office of the Kentucky Attorney General
THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
10 a.m. EDT
M.A. V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY VIA THE CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, ET AL. (2025-SC-0171-DGE)
AND
M.A. V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY VIA THE CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, ET AL. (2025-SC-0172-DGE)
AND
M.A. V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY VIA THE CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, ET AL. (2025-SC-0173-DGE)
Access links to briefs at https://kcoj.info/SCSept2026.
Termination of Parental Rights. Due Process Right to Conflict-Free Counsel. Issues include (1) whether a parent can waive his or her due process right to counsel at a termination hearing, which is considered a critical stage of the proceedings at which the right to counsel attaches, and (2) whether an actual conflict of interest existed, in the context of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Nickell, J., not sitting.
Discretionary Review Granted: September 10, 2025
Trial Court(s): McCracken Circuit Court
Presiding Judge(s): Hon. Deanna Henschel
Counsel for Appellant, M.A.: Bethanni Forbush-Moss – Law Offices of Forbush-Moss, PSC; John Helmers, Jr. – Helmers & Associates
Counsel for Appellee, Commonwealth of Kentucky Via The Cabinet for Health And Family Services, et al.: Kevin Martz and Whitney Schroeder Ladd – Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Legal Services
Counsel for Appellee, M.M.A, A Child.: Jennifer Mills Peak – Jennifer Mills Peek, Attorney at Law, PLLC
Counsel for Appellee, A.W.: James Skinner – JT Skinner PSC
11:30 a.m. EDT
RALPH SHOLLER, ET AL. V. KENTUCKY PAROLE BOARD, ET AL. (2024-SC-0517-TG)
AND
KEVIN ADAMS, ET AL. V. KENTUCKY PAROLE BOARD, ET AL. (2024-SC-0518-TG)
AND
LEIF HALVORSEN V. KENTUCKY PAROLE BOARD, ET AL. (2025-SC-0041-TG)
Access links to briefs at https://kcoj.info/SCSept2026.
Administrative Law. Parole Eligibility. Open Meetings Act. Summary Judgment. Due Process. Issues include: (1) whether the Parole Board's April 1, 2021 Directive—which converted life-sentence initial parole hearing "serve-outs" into 120-month deferments—was a valid exercise of its authority to reconsider prior decisions or an invalid, unpromulgated administrative regulation in violation of KRS Chapter 13A; (2) whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the Commonwealth before Appellants could complete discovery into the substance of the Parole Board's January 19, 2021 vote; (3) whether the Parole Board violated the Open Meetings Act during its January 19, 2021 closed session; (4) whether rescinding the Directive and returning Appellants to serve-out status violated their due process rights; and (5) whether the one-year statute of limitations barred Appellant Halvorsen's claims regarding his underlying 2020 parole hearing.
Transfer Order Granted: March 20, 2025
Trial Court(s): Franklin Circuit Court
Presiding Judge(s): Hon. Thomas Wingate
Counsel for Appellants, Ralph Sholler and Kevin Adams, et al.: Aaron Riggs and Bailey Brown – Department of Public Advocacy
Counsel for Appellant, Leif Halvorsen: Timothy Arnold and David Barron – Department of Public Advocacy
Counsel for Appellee, Kentucky Parole Board, et al.: Edward Baylous, II, Angela Turner Dunham and Natalie Lile – Justice & Public Safety Cabinet
Counsel for Appellee, Commonwealth of Kentucky: John Heyburn, Matthew Kuhn and Aaron Silletto – Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
