Jump to content

John S. Palmore

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John S. Palmore
Chief Justice of theKentucky Supreme Court
In office
1966, 1973, 1977 – 1982
Preceded byScott Elgin Reed
Succeeded byRobert F. Stephens
Justice of theKentucky Supreme Court
In office
1975–1982
Preceded byNew court
Succeeded byWilliam Gant
Justice of theKentucky Court of Appeals
In office
1959–1975
Succeeded byCourt became the Kentucky Supreme Court
Commonwealth's attorneyfor Kentucky's 5th district
In office
1955–1959
Preceded byFaust Y. Simpson
Personal details
Born(1917-08-06)August 6, 1917
Panama Canal Zone
DiedJuly 4, 2017(2017-07-04)(aged 99)
Frankfort, Kentucky,U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCarol Pate Palmore
Alma materUniversity of Louisville School of Law
ProfessionLawyer, judge
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Battles/warsWorld War II

John Stanley Palmore Jr.[1](August 6, 1917 – July 4, 2017) was an American judge who served as Justice of theKentucky Court of Appealsfrom 1959 until it became theSupreme Court of Kentuckyin 1975, and on the latter court until his retirement, in 1982. He served as chief justice in 1966, in 1973, and from 1977 to 1982.

Early life

[edit]

Palmore's grandfather, Andrew Houston Palmore, was a member of the5th Cavalry Regimentof theUnion Armyduring theAmerican Civil War.[2]

Palmore's family moved toBowling Green, Kentucky,in 1929, and he graduated fromBowling Green High Schoolin 1934.[2]He then enrolled atWestern Kentucky Universityand also joined theNational Guard.[2]After two years at Western Kentucky, he matriculated to theUniversity of Louisville School of Law.[2]In 1939, he graduatedcum laudefrom law school.[2]

Palmore began the practice of law inHenderson, Kentucky,but suspended his practice to serve inWorld War II.[2]On his return from the war, he served as city attorney for Henderson.[2]On January 2, 1954, he began a two-year term as city attorney forSebree.[3]

Political career

[edit]

After the death of 5th district circuit judge Marlin L. Blackwell in 1955,GovernorEarle C. Clementsappointed the district'sCommonwealth's attorney,Faust Y. Simpson, to the judgeship and Palmore as the new Commonwealth's attorney, possibly as a reward for supporting Clements' ally,Bert T. Combs,in the 1955Democraticgubernatorial primary against Clements' factional foe,A. B. "Happy" Chandler.[4]Palmore began his service on October 12, 1955, and was immediately tasked with prosecuting a high-profile murder case against Ben Charles Sitton, who was accused of killing police officer Jack Rainier during a traffic stop.[5]TheFraternal Order of Police,concerned that Palmore's inexperience would result in Sitton's acquittal, asked Palmore to allow a more experienced attorney to try the case, but Palmore refused.[6]On January 27, 1956, after just over three hours of deliberation, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Sitton and recommended adeath sentence.[6]The verdict was overturned on a technicality, and Palmore was forced to try it again, winning a second conviction on June 29, 1956; the second jury recommended a sentence oflife imprisonment.[7]

Between the two Sitton trials, Palmore faced a challenge in the DemocraticprimaryfromState RepresentativeCarl D. Melton.[7]Melton was a Chandler ally, while Palmore had sided with Clements.[7]Chandler hailed fromHenderson County,the most populous county in the district, while Clements was from neighboringUnion County,the district's second most populous.[7]Due to the population and advantage and Chandler's decisive victory over Combs in the previous year's gubernatorial primary, Melton was expected to defeat Palmore easily.[7]Palmore's successful prosecution of Sitton, combined with a strong turnout in Union County, helped him to a 626-vote victory in the primary, which was the de facto general election in the heavily Democratic district.[7]

Palmore continued as Commonwealth's attorney until he was elected to theKentucky Court of Appealsin 1959.[8]In 1966 and 1973, he served as the court'schief justice.[8]In 1969, Palmore chaired a 10-person committee charged with revising the Kentucky Criminal Code.[9]

In 1976, an amendment to theKentucky Constitutionrenamed the court to theKentucky Supreme Courtand created a new Court of Appeals below it. Palmore and the other justices on the old Court of Appeals were retained on the Kentucky Supreme Court.[8]Palmore served as the court's chief justice from 1977 until his retirement in 1982.[8]In his judicial career, he wrote more than 800 opinions.[8]

Later life

[edit]

After his retirement, Palmore became a legal advisor to then-Lieutenant GovernorMartha Layne Collins.[10]When GovernorJohn Y. Brown, Jr.fell critically ill following heart surgery in 1983, Palmore advised Collins to take the role of acting governor.[10]After Collins was elected governor, her administration hired Palmore to represent the state in several legal cases.[10]Under a standard practice of rejecting all personal services contracts that paid more than $75 per hour, a legislative committee initially rejected Palmore's contracts, which paid $125 per hour, but Collins representatives overruled them.[10]

In 1984, Palmore moved back to Henderson and re-opened his law practice.[11]Later that year, he was named to the board of regents for Western Kentucky University, where he served until 1988.[2]He was awarded anhonorarydoctor of laws degree fromEastern Kentucky Universityin 1984.[12]In 1986, he moved back to Central Kentucky to join his son, John W. Palmore, in theLexingtonlaw firm ofJackson, Kelly, Williams & Palmore.[13]He considered running for governor in 1987, but ultimately decided to manage the campaign of former GovernorJulian Carroll.[11][14]

Palmore received the Brandeis Medal from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1987 and was named an Alumni Fellow in 1993.[2]Also in 1993, he was inducted into the Western Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni.[2]For his defense offreedom of the press,he was given The First Prize by the Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.[2]

In retirement, Palmore began writing history books.[2]He also published twoautobiographies,An Opinionated Career: Memoirs of a Kentucky Judgein 2003 andFrom the Panama Canal to Elkhorn Creekin 2006. In 2014, Palmore was inducted into the Kentucky Bar Foundation's "Senator Henry Clay Circle".[8]His wife, Carol Pate Palmore, died December 6, 2015.[15]Palmore died on July 4, 2017, at age 99.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Who's Who in American Law(2nd ed.). Marquis Who's Who. 1979. p. 689.
  2. ^abcdefghijklGaines, Jim (November 15, 2003)."Influential Kentucky appeals judge pens his memoirs".The Daily News.Bowling Green, Kentucky.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  3. ^"City Attorney Named".The Advocate-Messenger.Danville, Kentucky. November 13, 1953.RetrievedJune 8,2016.
  4. ^Wiederstein, Rob (January 2016)."The Murder of Officer Jack Rainier and the Election of John Palmore"(PDF).Kentucky Bar Association. pp. 1, 3.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  5. ^Wiederstein, Rob (January 2016)."The Murder of Officer Jack Rainier and the Election of John Palmore"(PDF).Kentucky Bar Association. p. 1.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  6. ^abWiederstein, Rob (January 2016)."The Murder of Officer Jack Rainier and the Election of John Palmore"(PDF).Kentucky Bar Association. p. 2.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  7. ^abcdefWiederstein, Rob (January 2016)."The Murder of Officer Jack Rainier and the Election of John Palmore"(PDF).Kentucky Bar Association. p. 3.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  8. ^abcdef"Retired Chief Justice John S. Palmore honored".The State Journal.Frankfort, Kentucky. June 14, 2014.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  9. ^"Ky. Criminal Code Will be Revised".The Corbin Times.Corbin, Kentucky. December 7, 1969.RetrievedJune 8,2016.
  10. ^abcd"Former Chief Justice has Remained Controversial Figure".Lexington Herald-Leader.Associated Press. April 24, 1984.
  11. ^abOsborne, Diana Taylor (September 18, 1985). "Palmore Says He May Run for Governor".Lexington Herald-Leader.
  12. ^"Graduation Ceremonies Held".Lexington Herald-Leader.May 13, 1984.
  13. ^"Palmore joins Lexington law firm".Lexington Herald-Leader.June 1, 1986.
  14. ^Rugeley, Cindy (October 14, 1986). "CARROLL PROMISES ANSWERS AFTER ELECTION".Lexington Herald-Leader.
  15. ^Brammer, Jack (December 8, 2015). "Veteran state administrator Carol Palmore dies at 66".Lexington Herald-Leader.
  16. ^John S. Palmore, former Ky. chief justice, dies at 99.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Palmore, John S. (2006).From the Panama Canal to Elkhorn Creek: A Chronicle of Life in the 20th Century by an Old Kentucky Lawyer.Butler Book Publishing.ISBN1884532772.
  • Palmore, John S. (2003).An Opinionated Career: Memoirs of a Kentucky Judge.Kentucky River Press.ISBN0974528714.
  • Palmore, John S. (2000).Riding with Sherman: The Civil War Travels of the Fifth Kentucky Cavalry, U.S.A.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_S._Palmore&oldid=1213510442"