Robert "Bob" Conley
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Question 1:
What experiences – both personal and professional – do you bring to this position that you believe make you uniquely qualified for the role of Justice of the Supreme Court? Why should voters choose you?
I have served as a trial judge for 25 plus years in Eastern Kentucky. For the past 13 years, I have served as a Circuit Court Judge while also running a specialty Drug Court. Prior to being elected to the Circuit Court, I served 12 years as a District Court Judge. I believe that every life has value and every person matters. My Christian, Conservative values guide my life.
Question 2:
What do you see as your primary responsibilities and duties if elected to this office? Do you see a conflict between being an elected official and an independent judge?
The role of the office of Supreme Court Justice, like any judicial position, is to interpret the law and not make new laws from the bench.
Question 3:
What are your views on whether the court, as a whole, deals effectively with racial and gender bias? What could improve that?
Refer to the results of the recent Kentucky Bar Dissociation Survey.
Question 4:
Do you believe that all citizens have adequate access to legal help and the legal system? If not, what can be done to provide wider and better access?
Answer 4:
For Eastern Kentucky, the efforts to redistrict and reduce the number of judges would greatly reduce access to the legal system for citizens in our area. Most criminal defendants in my Circuit are in need of Public Defenders. Most Public Defenders are overworked with too large of caseloads. Efforts should be made to adequately fund and staff Public Advocacy Programs so that equal access is insured to all.
Question 5:
What do you believe is the purpose of incarceration, both pre-trial and post-trial?
Answer 5:
To protect the public and sometimes the defendants from themselves as well as insuring their presence at a court hearing.
Question 6:
How would you respond to the argument that the cash bail system should be eliminated because it disproportionately punishes low income Kentuckians?
Answer 6:
Bails should balance the need to protect the public and insure the defendant's appearance in court while balancing the defendant's right to a fair bond and their ability to pay.