Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton is appealing the dismissal of her Franklin Circuit Court lawsuit to prohibit Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration from firing her two top staffers. Attorney Joshua Harp informed the Franklin Circuit Court Wednesday that Hampton is appealing its decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals saying “we strongly disagree with the circuit court’s ruling and we believe that this issue is too important not to pursue further legal review.”
Hampton sued Bevin for dismissing two of her top staffers and she asked that they be allowed to return to their jobs. Hampton argued that she had the right to hire and fire her staff but last month, Franklin Circuit Judge Philip Shepherd ruledthat Bevin has the authority to hire and fire employees who are assigned to the lieutenant governor. The Bevin administration fired Hampton’s chief of staff last January for refusing to follow policy of leaving state government when he decided to run for Secretary of State in the May primary. Then Hampton’s deputy chief of staff was fired in May for “remarkably poor judgement in a number of ways” however, no specifics of her dismissal were ever given.