Committee nominates three as potential Warren District Court Judge

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Warren District Court Judge Sam Potter is retiring at the end of the week, and the state’s judicial nominating committee has recommended three local attorneys from which Gov. Andy Beshear can chose one to serve out the remainder of Potter’s term.

The official choice could come any day. However, Beshear has the option of rejecting all three nominees and asking for three new nominees or he could allow the vacancy to remain open until the election cycle for Potter’s term and let the voters decide.

Wednesday, these three individuals received a call from the Judicial Nominating Committee, led by Chief Justice of Kentucky John Minton Jr.

The nominees are Dwight Burton, Blake Beliles and Kimberly Geoghegan.

Dwight Burton has been practicing law for 15 years.

He is a husband and a father to three young girls.

“It meant a lot to me, you know. And even being picked it kind of said what some of my peers thought about me, you know, it’s an honor,” said Burton.

Burton said, if chosen, he would be the only African-American judge in the Warren County Courthouse.

“I hope to bring about some good in the community. I hope to restore a little faith in the community. You know, I was born and raised in Warren County, and I’ve always thought it was pretty diverse place but you know working at that courthouse every day you realize there’s close to zero diversity actually there’s close to zero diversity in the courthouse,” said Burton.

Burton also said treating everyone equally is an important quality for a judge.

Blake Beliles has been practicing law for 11 years.

He is a husband and a father to a baby girl.

“It was amazing. I mean, it was probably the biggest honor I’ve ever had in my life,” said Beliles.

Beliles said, if chosen, he wants to be a fair judge that makes decisions based on the law.

“That’s the kind of judge that I plan on being is someone that the community can count on, someone that is not going to make their experience harder than it has to be, someone that attorneys in this county can count on to make clear decisions and also make their job not harder than it is,” Beliles said.

Beliles also said, if he is not chosen, he will run for the position in November 2022.

Kimberly Geoghegan has been practicing law for 25 years.

She is a wife and mother of two boys. She is also an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Warren County.

“I’m very excited for this opportunity. I’m very honored that the Bar Association and Judicial Nominating Committee recommended my name to the governor as one of the three candidates for this position,” said Geoghegan.

Geoghegan said, if chosen, she wants to provide assistance and justice for children and juveniles as well as victims of crime.

“I’m very honored to have this opportunity. I’ve dedicated my legal career in public service, and I would like to continue to serve the public and I’m really excited about working with juveniles. I’ve noticed a need as I worked as a prosecutor for early intervention with juveniles and I hope to expand the services that are currently offered for juveniles,” said Geohegan.

Geoghegan also said, she wants to be approachable, fair and consistent in the decisions she would make as judge.

A retirement party is planned Friday for Potter.