Todd County Standard - Kentucky Press Association

KENTUCKY LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH COMMISSION
Continued from Page 48
idea that judges may cheat
the system. He said these
come about by a general lack
of public interest in judicial
and civic matters.
“It is not uncommon
for people to express genuine
surprise when told that I am
not free to simply
ignore laws,” said Gill. “I am
referring to people who
believe that judges are
authorized to change
or break clearly
established rules with a wink
and a nod.
If judges were allowed the
luxury of being able to cheat
by imposing our own personal
will or whim, this
would meet the definition
of tyranny.”
He said this is avoided by
the allowance of higher
courts to appeal to reverse
the decision of a lower
court.
For Gill, the most rewarding
part of the job is being
able to provide justice and a
fair process along the way to
those citizens who elect him.
“My work is to oversee
the mechanism of the Circuit
Courts in these two counties
so as to create an atmosphere
where justice stands
the best chance,” said Gill.
“I enjoy seeing our circuit
clerks, prosecutors, criminal
defense attorneys, civil attorneys,
police, probation officers,
sheriffs, bailiffs, jurors
and others working together
in a proper process.”
Gill said justice is a combined
effort.
“In these rural communities,
the end result, justice or
injustice, good or
bad, belongs to us,” said Gill.
“Justice is a community
effort. We can blame no one
else. We can trust no one
else to do it. It is too important
a task to be entrusted to
government. I am rewarded
when I see our system work
as it should.”
Gill said his schedule
depends on the time of year
and what types of cases are
on the docket. However, he
is in Elkton every Wednesday
from 8:30 until noon handling
Todd County Criminal
Cases and then handles civil
motions in the afternoon.
He does the same on
Thursdays in Logan County.
Mondays, Tuesdays and
Fridays are used for trials
hearings and administrative
business. Trials without juries
are held throughout the year.
Trials by jury are held
January, February, April,
May, August and September
in Logan County and March,
July and November in Todd
County.
Gill estimates about onefourth
of his cases take place
in Todd County.
With Browning and Gill
handling both Logan and
Todd counties, Todd County
Circuit Court Clerk Mark
Cowherd keeps all Todd
County judicial court records
on file.
“I’ve always thought of it
in a sense that I’m kind of like
the librarian of court proceedings
for Todd County,”
said Cowherd, who became
clerk in 1998 after working
in the office for several years.
Handling all district and
circuit court cases, Cowherd
said the files range from a
“parking ticket to a DUI to a
cold check, misdemeanor,
felony, all civil suits, all juvenile
cases, all adoptions, all
domestic violence cases.”
Cowherd said many people
are surprised when they
find out the wide spectrum of
his job responsibilities as well
as the duties of all judicial
officials.
“We do drivers’ licenses,
which is what most people
who have never been
involved with the court system
probably think we do, is
take pictures,” said Cowherd.
“That’s actually the smallest
portion of what we do. I
don’t know that some people
realize just how much is
involved in the court system.”
Kentucky State House of Representatives
Proudly Representing
Todd & Logan County
Rep. Martha Jane
KING
Frankfort, Kentucky
Contact Information
Frankfort: (502 )564-8100 ext. 618
Home: (270) 657-2707
Fax: (270) 657-2755
marthajaneking@lrc.ky.gov
Todd County Standard DISCOVER TODD COUNTY 49