FRANKFORT, Ky., March 6, 2025 – The Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice of the Commonwealth Debra Hembree Lambert, today announced nominees to fill the District Court judicial vacancy in Letcher County. Letcher makes up the 47th Judicial District.
The three nominees for the judgeship are attorneys Ashley Nicole Sturgell and Michael R. Watts II, both of Whitesburg, and James Nicholas Whitaker of Jackhorn. All three received their law degrees from the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va.
Sturgell has a private law practice in Whitesburg and was previously an attorney with Greg Baker Attorneys at Law from 2019-2021.
Watts is a partner with Hatton & Watts law firm in Whitesburg and is an assistant county attorney and an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Letcher County.
Whitaker is an attorney with Hatton & Watts and serves as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Letcher County.
The judicial seat became vacant when Judge Kevin R. Mullins passed away Sept. 19, 2024.
District Court
District Court judges handle juvenile matters, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, probate of wills, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, small claims involving $2,500 or less, civil cases involving $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments and cases relating to domestic violence and abuse.
Judicial Nominating Commission
The Judicial Nominating Commission helps fill judicial vacancies by appointment when a vacancy occurs outside of the election cycle. The Kentucky Constitution established the JNC. Ky. Const. § 118; SCR 6.000, et seq.
Judicial Nominating Process
When a judicial vacancy occurs, the executive secretary of the JNC publishes a notice of vacancy in the judicial circuit or the judicial district affected. Attorneys may recommend someone or nominate themselves. The names of the applicants are not released. Once nominations occur, the individuals interested in the position return a questionnaire to the Office of the Chief Justice. The chief justice then meets with the Judicial Nominating Commission to choose three nominees. Because the Kentucky Constitution requires that three names be submitted to the governor, in some cases the commission submits an attorney’s name even though the attorney did not apply. A letter naming the three nominees is sent to the governor for review. The governor has 60 days to appoint a replacement and his office makes the announcement.
Makeup of the Judicial Nominating Commission
The commission has seven members. The membership is comprised of the chief justice of Kentucky (who also serves as chair), two lawyers elected by all the lawyers in their circuit/district and four Kentucky citizens who are appointed by the governor. The four citizens appointed by the governor must equally represent the two major political parties, so two must be Democrats and two must be Republicans. It is the responsibility of the commission to submit a list of three names to the governor and the governor must appoint a judge from this list of three.
Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm of the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 412 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.