The Division 8 Staff
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McKay Chauvin: Circuit Court Judge
I am a graduate of Trinity High School, Vanderbilt University, and the Georgetown University Law Center. Very good schools I was lucky to get into then and could never get into now. I spent fifteen (15) years as a prosecutor in state and federal court. As an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney I served as Division Chief of the Special Prosecutions and Capital Trial units. As an Assistant United States Attorney I was the Violent Crimes Coordinator for the Western District of Kentucky, and founded the nationally recognized anti-gun crime initiative called “Project Backfire”. Immediately prior to coming to the bench I enjoyed a short but colorful and highly entertaining stint in private practice. I was first appointed to the Jefferson Circuit Court in 2004 and have enjoyed very nearly every minute of the job since then. In January of 2013 I was honored by the Louisville Bar Association with the Distinguished Service Award. Since 2014 I have been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where I teach a trial practice class. My seriously wonderful wife Laura and I have three (3) alternately delightful and maddening children (Addison, Whitney and Jack) and four (4) consistently smelly dogs (Henry, Scooter, Petunia, and Finnegan).
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Kati Kiefer: Staff Attorney
Kati was raised in the land of Missouri. Missouri (often mispronounced “Miz-ur-ee”) is the state you would get if you bred Indiana with Arkansas. She is happy to be from there but she misses the toasted ravioli. Kati is a graduate of Wake Forest and the Saint Louis University School of Law. Chances are she is smarter than you and just about anyone you know. Prior to landing her dream job here in Division 8 she worked for the Missouri Department of Revenue. In addition to making me look good, Kati is also in charge of the S.M.A.R.T. probation database and our Intern/Extern program (a/k/a “The Division 8 College of Judicial Wisdom and Knowledge”). She bakes the best oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip cookies on either side of the Mississippi.
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Joyce Collier: Court Clerk
Joyce is the nicest, friendliest, warm-and-fuzziest clerk in all of Division 8. She loves people. Maybe not immediately, or even very quickly, but eventually and then forever. She has a very hard job which I make even harder because I crank out Orders like the Bureau of Engraving cranks out dollar bills. Joyce is thrilled that, because of my various and sundry special projects, we have to keep all of the criminal files up here in our office rather than down in the clerk’s office like everybody else. She also serves as safety marshal for the eighth floor. She has given us all very clear instructions that in case of an actual emergency we are welcome to follow her as she runs screaming out of the building.
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Cherie Quick: Secretary
Cherie is the secretary here in Division 8. She is the third person to hold that position. The two who preceded her both disappeared under mysterious circumstances, I can’t imagine where they went and, on advice of counsel, can’t talk about it until the statute of limitations has run. Cherie’s main job is to take the blame for anything and everything that goes wrong here. She does a great job. She is way way nicer and way way more thoughtful than the rest of us. She spends a lot of her time processing the ridiculous number of Orders I write as part of our e-Order project wherein we send all of our Opinions and Orders out electronically. This saves time, paper, and money, but is a one-way e-street. As such Cherie will not accept pleadings or correspondence by return e-mail that should be filed or e-filed. While she won’t yell at you about it (and will assume that it is somehow her fault), she will not pass whatever you sent her on to me. Otherwise, please feel free to call her anytime you have a question or concern about anything. The telephone number is 502.595.4294.
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Derek Woodmore: Deputy Sheriff
Derek is the keeper of the peace and the maintainer of order in our court. He is tasked with keeping the docket moving by shepherding prisoners to and from the jail and in and out of the courtroom, as well as herding lawyers from wherever they are (somewhere in or near the courthouse) to where they’re supposed to be (at counsel table in Division 8). He is also in charge of the care and feeding of the jury when we are in trial. He is as easy going as a guy who spent twenty-five (25) years as a police officer, fourteen (14) of which were on the fabled Jefferson County Police Department, could possibly be. As such, you should not hesitate to ask him for help. Please know, however, that if you lounge on the furniture or chew gum in the courtroom, or talk while we’re on the record, he will cloud up and rain all over you and then hold you down and drown you in the resulting puddle.