On August 5, 2011, Attorneys, Mary Ann Stewart and Jennifer Langen, obtained a successful ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, upholding the Kenton Circuit Court’s entry of Summary Judgment on behalf of a jail deputy and a jail nurse, in Dustin Jerauld, by and through his Guardian, Patricia Robinson vs. Mark Kroger, Pamela Sams, and Ramona Parker, Case No. 2010-CA-001429-MR. In a unanimous, published decision, the Court adopted the arguments made by Ms. Stewart and Ms. Langen, and held that jail employees’ supervision of inmates falls within the scope of discretionary-decision making and that they are immune from civil suits seeking payment of damages for failure to foresee or prevent an inmate’s attempt at suicide.

The plaintiffs had brought companion claims against these same defendants in Federal Court.  Ms. Stewart and Ms. Langen had secured court-ordered dismissal of these claims, too through favorable rulings of the United States District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.