William Harold Cunningham (born October 15, 1944)[1] is an American former prosecutor and former Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court. He was elected to the court in November 2006 to represent the first Appellate District. He announced he would retire in early 2019.[2]
Bill Cunningham | |
|---|---|
 Cunningham in 2016 | |
| Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – February 1, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | William Graves |
| Succeeded by | David Buckingham |
| Judge of the 56th Kentucky Circuit Court | |
| In office January 6, 1992 – January 1, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Willard B. Paxton |
| Succeeded by | C. A. Woodall III |
| Commonwealth's Attorney for the 56th Kentucky Circuit Court | |
| In office November 1976 – January 4, 1988 | |
| Preceded by | Circuit created by 1976 (ex. 1) Ky. Acts ch. 14 |
| Succeeded by | G. L. Ovey Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Harold Cunningham October 15, 1944 Eddyville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Paula Trull |
| Children | Joe, John, David, Luke, and Joshua Cunningham |
| Residence | Kuttawa, Kentucky |
| Alma mater | Murray State University (BA) University of Kentucky (JD) |
Education
editCunningham earned his bachelor's degree from Murray State University in 1966 and his Juris Doctor in 1969 from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Early judicial career
editCunningham served the court system in several capacities before entering his judicial career. He was the Eddyville city attorney from 1974 to 1991 and public defender for the Kentucky State Penitentiary from 1974 to 1976. He served as Commonwealth's Attorney for the 56th Judicial District from 1976 to 1988. During his tenure in that position, he was voted the Outstanding Commonwealth Attorney of Kentucky by his peers.
Cunningham also served as a hearing officer for the Kentucky Board of Claims from 1981 to 1985 and as a trial commissioner for the Lyon County District court from 1989 to 1992.
Cunningham served as a circuit court judge for 15 years. He was elected to the Circuit Court Bench in November 1991 to serve the 56th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Caldwell, Livingston, Lyon and Trigg counties. He was re-elected in 1999 and served as circuit judge until January 2007.
He was elected in 2006 to a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court.[3] He retired on February 1, 2019, after a 40-year judicial career.[4]
Personal life
editBorn in Eddyville,[5] Cunningham is a native of Kuttawa, Kentucky in Lyon County and an author of five books about regional history, which chronicle the struggle for racial justice in western Kentucky since the American Civil War as well as a book about the history of the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.
He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Korea, Germany, and Vietnam.
He and his wife, Paula Trull, have five sons and eleven grandchildren. His son, Joe, is a former U.S. Representative from South Carolina's 1st congressional district.[6]
References
edit- ^ Trigg Co, Kentucky Veterans Turner Publishing Company; 2002
- ^ "Cunningham To Step Down From Kentucky Supreme Court". www.wkms.org. December 28, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- ^ "Judicial Selection in the States - Methods of Judicial Selection - Kentucky". www.judicialselection.us. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ Bailey, Phillip M. (December 28, 2018). "Matt Bevin could pick next Supreme Court justice to fill vacant seat". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ Griffin, Mark. "After Shock: On bended knees with Bill Cunningham". The Amplifier. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved Mar 31, 2019.
- ^ "Joe Cunningham For Congress | South Carolina | Meet Joe Cunningham". Joe Cunningham For Congress | South Carolina. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2018-12-06.