Huh? You say. Well, Judge Caldwell has stopped the attornies for fired state transportation cabinet employee Mike Duncan from getting Governor Ernie Fletcher's deposition on Feb. 20th. Attorney Tom Clay had planned to question Fletcher that day about his knowledge of Duncan's firing, a firing that led Duncan to sue the Fletcher administration in federal court. It could be argued that Caldwell has a potential conflict of interest in hearing this case. Her husband is Lloyd Cress, a Lexington attorney who's been a high ranking official in the Fletcher administration. Fletcher promoted Cress to deputy secretary in the Environmental and Public Protection cabinet in October.
Judge Caldwell is a highly regarded former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted many of the BOPTROT cases against state lawmakers back in the early 1990s.