Summarize briefly your legal career and education.

I graduated from Western Kentucky University, summa cum laude. I was awarded a full scholarship to the Brandeis School of Law in Louisville and graduated with honors. I began my legal career in private practice in Louisville as a family law litigator. My practice consisted primarily of complex divorce litigation involving financial and large asset division, child custody, spousal maintenance, child support, adoptions and appeals. In addition, I served as a court appointed guardian ad litem for parents and children in dependency, abuse and neglect cases, as well as termination of parental rights actions. 

After returning home to Bowling Green, I transitioned my practice into public interest law, joining Kentucky Legal Aid as the family law attorney for Warren Family Court. In this capacity, I have helped thousands of people with family law matters. I am a trained mediator, and my legal practice currently is focused on cases impacting children, as well as domestic violence litigation. I also have taught family law in the paralegal studies department at Western Kentucky University.

I have been consistently recognized for my professional accomplishments, having been awarded our agency’s Outstanding Staff Attorney Award in 2012 and 2013, the Outstanding Family Law Attorney Award in 2011 and the Outstanding Public Service Award in 2010. In 2012, the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association conferred upon me the Gwyneth B. Davis Outstanding Public Service Award for my commitment to public service and dedication to community spirit. Most recently, I was honored to be nominated by Chief Justice John Minton and the members of the judicial nominating commission to be considered by Gov. Beshear for the judicial appointment to complete the late Judge Margaret Ryan Huddleston’s term.

What do you feel best qualifies you to serve as the next family court judge?

I have devoted my entire career to assisting families and children in Family Court. The breadth and depth of my knowledge of family law makes me unique among the candidates. I have been a licensed attorney for nearly 15 years and have worked in both private practice and public interest law with clients from many different backgrounds. I have knowledge and experience in all facets of family law including child custody, divorce, neglect and abuse, paternity and child support, domestic violence, termination of parental rights and adoption. 

I know the importance of the role of family court judge to the families and children of our community because I have committed my career to helping families and children navigate family court. I have the knowledge, the experience, the work ethic, the temperament, the fair-mindedness and the desire to serve the families and children of Warren County as family court judge, because I recognize that each and every family matters.

 What do you feel should be the top priority of a family court judge?

The top priority of a Family Court judge is safeguarding the best interests of the children who come before the court and ensuring fairness for all litigants. 

As an attorney who has practiced in Warren County Family Court, what aspects of court do you think could be improved to better serve everyone?  

My years of practicing family law in all of its many facets in both private practice in Louisville, as well as in public interest law here in Warren County, have given me important insights into what is required for the effective functioning of a family court. Open communication and strong partnerships with state and community service providers are extremely important. 

Over the years, my devotion to helping families and children navigate the sometimes perilous waters of family court has taught me that the challenges that each child and each family face do not disappear when they leave the courtroom. Family law cases can last many years as people seek to start new lives, to provide for and raise children, to find and keep employment and to manage the daily struggles of life. I would strive to foster an environment that encourages open, direct communication between the parties, when safe and appropriate. I also would seek to coordinate the many available community resources to address the challenges that children and families face in order to ensure that each family and each child has the best opportunity to grow and thrive.

Family courts statewide have seen an increase in people who are representing themselves in cases. How would you do to address this issue?

Pro se, or self-help, representation in family court is sometimes a person’s only method of accessing the court’s help for themselves or their children. A family court judge should treat all litigants with respect and fairness regardless of whether they are represented by an attorney. The challenge that is created by the pro se litigant is ensuring compliance with the requirements of our state statutes, case law, rules of evidence, as well as the civil and local rules of procedure. 

When pleadings filed by unrepresented litigants fail to meet the statutory and local rule requirements, the time and resources of the court and the clerk’s office must be expended to identify mistakes and to try to ensure compliance. I have worked as an attorney for Kentucky Legal Aid for nearly six years assisting low-income parents and victims of violence. Kentucky Legal Aid, as well as attorneys providing pro bono (without charge) legal representation, play a very important role in helping to ensure that individuals who are unable to afford to hire private counsel can have the assistance of an attorney to comply with all of the necessary legal requirements of family court.

In addition, when beginning my practice in Warren County, I quickly realized that many people coming into the family court system did not have access to mediation services to help resolve their cases in an effective and efficient way. In response to that need, I initiated and helped implement the Warren County Pro Bono Mediation Project which allows litigants to participate in mediation without charge to help them come up with their own solutions to the issues they are facing in family court. This project is available to pro se litigants, as well as to low-income families who are Legal Aid clients or have pro bono representation.

As family court judge, what sort of initiatives would you seek to implement to ensure compliance with child-support payments?

The Warren County Attorney’s Office already operates an extremely effective child support collection effort. Child support orders established through either paternity, custody or divorce actions are legally enforceable judgments. The failure to pay child support can trigger both civil and criminal sanctions. The structure to enforce and collect child support is already in place. The key to its continued successful implementation is, as always, the efficient use of already available resources and the willingness to authorize the appropriate sanctions when individuals fail to comply with court ordered support obligations.

How would you as a judge best serve the interests of juvenile offenders who come through the system?

The designation of a juvenile as a “youthful offender” is made by the Warren District Court in situations where a juvenile has committed a particular kind of crime that potentially authorizes treating the juvenile as an adult for the purposes of criminal prosecution. That being said, there are juvenile offenders that come before the Family Court. These “status offenders” can be classified in a number of ways including as a habitual truant, a juvenile deemed to be beyond control of family or school, and a juvenile that has committed a tobacco or alcohol violation, to name a few. 

Effectively dealing with juvenile offenders in Family Court is a delicate balance. The actions of these juveniles can often alert the court to problems elsewhere. Many times, these kids are faced with numerous obstacles, and it can be difficult to recognize how to ensure that their best interests are taken into consideration. The inclusion of family, when appropriate, is vital to any solution. Additionally, open communication with schools, school resource officers, the county attorney, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services can provide valuable insights. Also, allocating the resources of community partners and regularly monitoring the juvenile’s progress with clearly established goals and appropriate consequences when expectations are not met help to ensure that the juvenile’s best interests are being addressed. All of these components are necessary elements in fashioning an effective strategy to help mitigate negative influences and to give juveniles the best possible chance at success. 

In addition, Family Court, with other community partners, has re-initiated Teen Court in an effort to help address criminal conduct perpetrated by juveniles. In Teen Court, a juvenile has admitted guilt to a crime and has agreed for a jury of peers to recommend an appropriate sentence. Providing kids with the opportunity to be involved in addressing their own issues can be an effective method of correction and civic education.

What do you feel is the most important issue affecting juveniles in the family court system and how would you address it?

Children in the family court system face a variety of challenges, including the emotional impact of divorcing parents, combating substance abuse within the family, dealing with effects of abuse, coping with physical or mental illnesses, struggling with financial limitations and overcoming language barriers. Any issue negatively affecting the well-being of any child is the most important issue to that particular child. Each case, each family and each child is different, and every story must be heard with an open and fair mind.

What sort of initiatives would you promote to reduce instances of truancy?

In addition to many years working as a family law litigator, I have served two consecutive terms as a parent representative on the School Based Decision Making Council at our children’s school, and I have also served on the Principal Selection Committee. I know the importance of school attendance, and truancy is a persistent problem that plagues families and schools. 

Truancy from school can have long lasting negative effects on a student’s long-term educational prospects. As Family Court judge, I would strive for “truancy fluency” in our community. This initiative would increase opportunities for open and meaningful communication between the court and school administrators, teachers, parents, school resource officers, government agencies and community partners to improve systematic safeguards to help stop truancy at the onset of a juvenile’s behavior. 

How do you see the role of family court evolving as the caseload continues to expand beyond conventional divorce cases?

The challenges and struggles that families and children in family court experience do not disappear the moment they leave the courtroom. Instead, they can persist for years as children grow and life circumstances change. The creation of family court was founded upon the ideal of one family, one court, one judge. 

Family Court was instituted to ensure that one judge was able to address all of the issues that a family and child might face over the long term. In this way, a single judge can come to know the children and families and to recognize the unique circumstances of each and every family. Family court has always and will continue to address issues beyond conventional divorce cases. That is what it was designed to do. The role of family court remains the same: the recognition that no matter their issues, no matter their circumstances – every family matters.