Judge J. Christopher McNeill has been appointed the new deputy chief judge of the Court of Appeals. The deputy chief judge provides administrative oversight to the Court of Appeals in the chief judge’s absence.
Court of Appeals Chief Judge Larry E. Thompson appointed McNeill to the position earlier this week.
“Judge McNeill has demonstrated the leadership, knowledge, and professionalism needed to serve as deputy chief judge of the court,” said Thompson, who has served with McNeill for more than four years.
McNeill succeeds Deputy Chief Judge Pamela R. Goodwine, who was elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky in November and will begin serving in January.
“I am honored and humbled to serve as deputy chief judge,” McNeill said. “I look forward to continuing in service to the citizens of our commonwealth.”
McNeill was first elected to the Court of Appeals for the 1st Appellate District to fill an unexpired term, taking office in May 2020. He was reelected for a full eight-year term in November 2022.
McNeill serves the 1st Division of the 1st Appellate District. The district is made up of 23 Western Kentucky counties: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Union, and Webster.
Before serving as a Court of Appeals judge, McNeill worked in private civil practice and was a staff attorney for the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He later became a directing attorney for the Public Defender’s Office in McCracken County, overseeing more than 70,000 cases across Western Kentucky.
Nearly all cases heard by the Kentucky Court of Appeals come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in Circuit Court or District Court and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court’s decision.
Some cases, such as criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. Cases are not retried in the Court of Appeals. Only the record of the original court trial is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision.
Fourteen judges, two each elected from seven appellate court districts, serve on the Court of Appeals for eight-year terms. The judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority determining the decision. The panels do not sit permanently in one location but travel throughout the state to hear cases.
