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Attorney Profiles
 Hon.
James E. Keller
Lexington, Kentucky
Special Counsel
Justice James E. Keller joined Gess Mattingly & Atchison in 2005, after
having retired as an Associate Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court and having
previously served for 22 years as Circuit Judge for Fayette County.
Justice Keller graduated from the University of Kentucky, College of Law, in
1965 and spent the next 11 years in private practice with Keller, Shuffett,
Kenton & Anderson (1966-1968), Keller & Hughes (1968-1971) and Tackett, Keller &
Hughes (1972-1976). From 1969 through 1976 he also served as Master Commissioner
of the Fayette Circuit Court.
Justice Keller was appointed Circuit Judge for Fayette County in 1976, where he
served through 1999. During this phase of his career, Justice Keller served two
terms as the Chief Circuit Judge, was Co-Chair of the First Fayette Family
Branch of the Fayette Circuit Court, and volunteers as a Drug Court Judge. He
was twice elected President of the Kentucky Circuit Judges Association.
In 1999, Justice Keller was appointed to the Kentucky Supreme Court and was
subsequently elected in 2000 to a full term as the Court’s representative of the
Fifth Supreme Court District. He retired from the Kentucky Supreme Court on May
31, 2005.
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- 2005
- Kentucky, 1966
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, 1966
- U.S. Tax Court, 1968
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1971
- University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington, Kentucky, 1965
Juris Doctor Degree
- Eastern Kentucky University, 1963
Bachelor of Business Administration
Honors: Awarded 2000
- Kentucky Domestic Relations Law (Co-Author with Louise Graham),
Cleveland Banks-Baldwin
- Kentucky Circuit Judges (Co-Author with Natalie Wilson), Domestic
Relations Benchbook
- Kentucky's Physician-Patient Privilege Bar News, Fayette County Bar
Association, 1990
- Ten Proven Ways to Lose an Uncontested Divorce Bar News, Fayette
County Bar Association, 1991
- Rejection of Orders and Judgments Bar News, Fayette County Bar
Association, 1992
- Significant Changes in the Rules of the Fayette Circuit Court Bar News,
Fayette County Bar Association, 1993
- Legislative Changes in Kentucky's Child Support Guidelines, Bar News
Fayette County Bar Association, 1994
- Wage Assignment Order: Authorized Revision Bar News, Fayette County
Bar Association, 1995
- Pro Se Divorces: Some Hidden Perils Bar News, Fayette County Bar
Association, 1996
- Beware: Major Changes in Private Independent Adoptions, Bench & Bar,
Kentucky Bar Association, Vol. 60 No. 3, Summer, 1996
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- Henry T. Duncan Memorial Award by Fayette County Bar Association, 1989 -
Present
- 5th Annual K.I.D.S. Award by Kentuckians Involved in Dependents Support,
1990 - Present
- Henry V. Pennington Outstanding Trial Judge Award, Presented by Kentucky
Academy of Trial Attorneys, 1994 - Present
- Mediation Center Award, 1992 - Present
- Bowling Green Bar Association Award, 1995 - Present
- Law Day Award, 1998 - Present
- Blue Ribbon Doll Award by Governor Paul Patton and First Lady Judi Patton
and Kentucky Council on Child Abuse, 1998 - Present
- Fayette Drug Court Award
- Eastern Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni, April 27, 2002 -
Present
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- Kentucky Bar Association
- Fayette County Bar Association
- Board of Trustees, 1975 - 1976
- Member
- Kentucky Circuit Judges Association, 1992 - 1994
- President
- Lexington-Fayette Urban County Criminal Justice Commission, 1994 - 1998
- Chair
- Kentucky Civil Filing Fees Committee, 1994 - 1996
- Chair
- Gubernatorial Task Force on the Delivery and Funding of Quality Public
Defendant Services, 1993 - 1994
- Member
- Kid's Time
- Co-Founder
- Parents Education Clinic
- Co-Founder
- Mediation Center of Kentucky
- Co-Founder
- Fayette Drug Court
- Co-Founder
- Mediation Program for Contested Custody Proceedings
- Founder
- Chief Justice's Task Force on Mental Health Proceedings, 1978 - 1979
- Chairman
- Court Reporting Task Force
- Member
- Fayette County's Law Day U.S.A. Luncheon
- Founder and Chairman
- Developed Domestic Violence Protocol
- Criminal Differentiated Case Management Committee
- Chairman
- Family Branch Advisory Committee
- Co-chair
- Child Support Guidelines Review Commission, 1991 - 1996
- Chairman
- Board of Law Care
- Past Member
- Board of Fayette County Legal Aid, 1976 - Present
- Chairman
- Governor's Office of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Services, 1996 - 2001
- Member, Judicial Advisory Committee
- New Fayette County Courthouse Guideline Committee, 1996 - 1997
- Member
- Cabinet for Families and Children, 1997 - 1998
- Member, Welfare Reform External Advisory Committee
- Special Legislative Task Force on Parenting and Child Custody, 1998 - 1999
- Member
- Chief Justice's Jury Study Commission
- Chair
- Instituted Fayette Circuit Court's Probation Review Program
- Instituted Family Motion Hour Mediation
- Established Jurors After Care Program
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- Kentucky Supreme Court, Associate Justice
- Fayette Circuit Court, Master Commissioner, 1969 - 1976
- Fayette County, Circuit Judge, 1976 - 1999
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- Developed Domestic Violence Protocol
- Developed Child Support Review Project
- Developed Time-Sharing Guidelines
- Developed Self-Help Visitation Packet
- Developed Self-Help Child Support Modification Packet
- Developed Evidentiary Problems in Dissolution Actions
- Developed Evidentiary Problems in Personal Injury Cases
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- August 13, 1942, Harlan, Kentucky, United States of America
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