JUDGE McKAY CHAUVIN

Judge Chauvin is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Georgetown University Law Center – two schools he feels very fortunate to have gotten into back then and doesn't think he could possibly get into now.  Prior to being appointed to the Circuit Court bench in 2004, he served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County, KY and an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Kentucky.  He also spent a brief but colorful and rewarding time in private practice handling criminal cases in state and federal court.  He was selected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Judge in 2013. 

Judge Chauvin has earned a reputation for his scholarship and stewardship in both criminal and civil cases. He is also really funny – not “judge funny” but for real funny.  He is the author of Trial Practice Makes Perfect, a frequent lecturer at the Circuit Court Judicial College, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. 

In addition to being a real judge, he also appears on Court Night Live  on the A&E television network  Read his full bio here.

ABIGAIL BITTEL:  LAW CLERK

Abby is the Division 8 Staff Attorney (what other places might call “Law Clerk”).  She is the pride of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee (home of the International Towing and Recovery Museum and not too far a piece from the Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park).   She is a proud graduate of Bellarmine University in Louisville and St. John’s Law School in Queens, New York.  She is super smart and works very hard.  In addition to helping to keep the cases moving on the civil docket, she oversees the intern/extern program (a/k/a “The Division 8 College of Judicial Wisdom and Knowledge”)  for law school students interested in seeing how the justice gets made.  She can be reached by telephone at 502.595.4461 or by e-mail.

DEREK WOODMORE: DEPUTY SHERIFF

Derek is the keeper of the peace and the maintainer of order in Division 8 and in the A&E Court Night Live courtroom. He is tasked with keeping the docket moving by shepherding people 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. He is also in charge of the care and feeding of the jury when we are in trial. He is just as easy going as a guy who spent twenty-five years as a police officer, fourteen 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 note, however, that if you lounge on the seats, chew gum or act up or out while we are on the record, he will cloud up and rain all over you and then drown you in the resulting puddle.

CHERIE QUICK: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Cherie is an extremely helpful person. Fortunately for you, she is the one you will speak with first if you have occasion to call Division 8. Her main job, however, is to take the blame for anything and everything that goes wrong but isn’t actually her fault.  That, and her masterful cookie baking/decorating skills, make her indispensable and keep her very busy.  Cherie spends a great deal of her time answering questions that the people asking them should already know or could have easily looked up for themselves.  She doesn’t seem to mind.  She is way nicer than most people.  The rest of her day is taken up processing the crushing number of Orders generated by the judge on a daily basis. 

(NOTE:  Orders sent out of Division 8 are sent via e-mail to save time, paper, and money, so please make sure to provide her with, and update as necessary, your e-mail address. ) 

She can be reached by telephone at 502.595-4295, or e-mail.