Kingree dismissal request is denied; lawsuit upheld

An appellate court has denied Rocky Kingree's request to dismiss one of the civil suits against him that challenge his qualifications to become Division II associate circuit judge in Butler County.

Kingree filed two petitions for "writ of mandamus" Friday with the Court of Appeals, Southern District, against Presiding Circuit Judge Fred Copeland of New Madrid, Missouri, in cases brought against him by Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour on behalf of the state and attorney Chris Yarbro on behalf of Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth.

In his petition, Kingree asked the Court of Appeals to order Copeland to dismiss both cases, which seek to keep Kingree, who is Carter County Prosecuting Attorney, off the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

The appellate court then issued an order Sept. 12 giving the attorneys until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to Kingree's petitions.

After the responses were filed and reviewed by a three-judge panel, the court denied the petition for writ of mandamus late Monday for the case filed on Bloodworth's behalf.

No order had been issued by press time in the case filed by the Butler County prosecuting attorney's office.