43-year-old Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines is behind bars, charged with murdering the man he was responsible for protecting, 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins.
We spoke with Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Robert Conley of the 7th district, where Letcher County lies. He explains the process of getting a judge seated and cases moving forward.
“Letcher County is a district in itself, so it’s a one-county district so there was only one district judge and one circuit judge, and that’s Judge Jimmy Craft.” Justice Conley says, “There will be a special judge appointed and probably a special circuit judge as well because Judge Craft was friends with both the sheriff and the district judge.”
The Letcher County Court system will be closed until Monday, September 30th. Some offices within the courthouse have reopened with limited services.
Stines' first court hearing has been moved to Carter County. It will be this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. over ZOOM.
Judge Mullins's funeral was held on Sunday. He will be laid to rest later this week.
