Justice Cunningham visits area 12/23/08 Email this story to a friend Justice Bill Cunningham was elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky in November 2006 to serve the 1st Supreme Court District. Justice Cunningham was in Fulton County Dec. 19 stopping at various locations throughout the county. “I am here visiting in Hickman to remember those who elected me to my current office,” he said. During his visit to the Hickman Courier office, he was accompanied by Nelson “Corky” Hill former Fulton County Sheriff. Before becoming a member of the state’s highest court, Justice Cunningham served as a circuit court judge for 15 years. He was elected to he Circuit Court Bench in November 1991 to serve the 56th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Caldwell, Livingston, Lyon and Trigg counties. He was re-elected in 1999 and served as circuit judge until January 2007. He served the court system in several capacities before entering his judicial career. He was the Eddyville city attorney from 1974 to 1991 and public defender for the Kentucky State Penitentiary from 1974 to 1976. He served as commonwealth’s attorney for the 56th Judicial District from 1976 to 1988, and during his tenure in that position, he was voted the Outstanding Commonwealth Attorney of Kentucky by his peers. Justice Cunningham earned his bachelor’s degree from Murray State University in 1962 and his juris doctor in 1969 from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Vietnam, Korea and Germany. Justice Cunningham is a native of Lyon County and authored six books about regional history, which chronicle the struggle for racial justice in western Kentucky since the Civil War. “Law and order begins with respect for the court system. Unfortunately, confidence in judges, lawyers, and law enforcement has diminished over the past several years. Much of the criticism is warranted. However, such criticism ignores the fact that our court systems work for the most part fairly and efficiently with officers of the court committed to a sense of fair play and decency. There is some suspicion of our court system because many people do not understand it,” stated Justice Cunningham in a brochure that he brought with him on his visit. He had plans to continue visiting in the area Dec. 23. Justice Cunningham and his wife, Paula, have five sons and five grandchildren.