Track record with criminal cases separates Lexington judicial candidates

The two candidates for Fayette circuit judge say they have a broad array of experience to do the job, but the difference in their backgrounds has emerged as an issue.

John Reynolds, the incumbent, was appointed by Gov. Matt Bevin in early 2018 to fill the unexpired term of Judge James Ishmael Jr., who retired.

His opponent, Lucy VanMeter, is making her first run for elected office. She is an equity partner in Stoll Keenon Ogden, one of Kentucky’s largest law firms.

Reynolds believes the judicial nominating commission put his name forward to the governor for Ishmael’s unexpired term because “I had done a lot of trial work. I had tried a lot of cases. I think they liked the fact that I had done a lot of criminal and civil trials.”

“That previous experience “has served me well as a judge,” Reynolds said.

VanMeter said that while the bulk of her practice has been in civil litigation, she has tried civil and criminal trials in her 17-year law career.

“I don’t come to this job as a former prosecutor and I don’t come to this job as a criminal defense lawyer,” VanMeter said. “So I won’t see those cases through the lens of either perspective. I’ll see them straight on as a true neutral.”

Nevertheless, Reynolds said VanMeter “just hasn’t had the same exposure to different cases that I’ve had. …You’ve got to do it to know it.”

VanMeter countered that she has handled “all kinds of tort cases, which can be fires, electrocutions, slips and falls, car wrecks, boundary-line disputes, insurance bad-faith contracts, you name it. … I’ve done it all, from the smallest case to the biggest case.”

The winner of the Nov. 6 race will serve through 2022, when an election will be held for a full eight-year term. Circuit court handles felonies, capital offenses, civil matters involving more than $5,000, and contested probate cases.

Circuit court judges are paid $127,733 a year, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

VanMeter has raised $216,574.34 and spent $196,122.78, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance website. Reynolds has raised $54,626.91 and spent $16,802.18.

Since August 2017, VanMeter has been married to Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Laurance VanMeter. That raises a question of when Justice VanMeter would recuse or disqualify himself should a case from his spouse reach the Supreme Court.

The issue came up before when a party asked whether Justice VanMeter should recuse from a civil case that was handled by Stoll Keenon Ogden, even though Lucy VanMeter was not a lawyer in the matter.

In August, Justice VanMeter denied the request to disqualify himself, writing that “I have an obligation to sit on and decide cases when recusal is not required.” However, he has recused himself from another case pending before the Supreme Court.

Lucy VanMeter said most cases appealed from circuit court go to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and only “a very small percentage of cases” would go to the Supreme Court. Her marriage doesn’t disqualify her from doing the job of circuit judge, she said.

If one Supreme Court justice recuses, the court proceeds with the other six justices, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts. If two or more justices recuse, then the governor appoints special justices.

VanMeter has been endorsed by the Central Kentucky Building and Construction Trades Council, the Bluegrass Central Labor Council, the People’s Campaign, a social activist group, and C-Fair, the political action committee of Kentucky’s LGBTQ Fairness Campaign. The Fraternal Order of Police did not endorse either candidate.

John Reynolds

Date of birth: June 3, 1969

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola University, 1991; law degree from University of Kentucky, 1997.

Elected office: None. Appointed Fayette circuit judge in early 2018.

Family: Wife, Holly; two sons

Web site: www.keepjudgereynolds.com

Lucy VanMeter

Date of birth: May 25, 1975

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications, DePauw University, 1997; law degree from University of Kentucky, 2001

Elected office: None

Occupation: Equity member of Stoll Keenon Ogden law firm in Lexington

Family: Husband, Laurance VanMeter; four stepchildren

Web site: https://lucyvanmeter.com/

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 3:31 PM.