The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice of Kentucky John Minton, Jr., announced on Monday, March 25, 2019, nominees to fill the vacant Family Court judicial seat for Pike County. Pike County composes the 35th Judicial Circuit and the vacancy is in the circuit’s Division 3. The Three nominees are: Robert Lee Chaney, who has a general law practice, mainly handling family and criminal law cases; Rachel Wagner Kennedy, an attorney with Jones & Walters law firm, primarily handling workers’ compensation cases; and Wesley Kent Varney, whose primary focus is on criminal defense. The judicial seat became vacant in November 2018 when Judge Larry Thompson was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Governor Matt Bevin has 60 days to appoint a replacement.
