[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 83 (Friday, June 23, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6451-S6452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JUDGE R.W. DYCHE III

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
leader in public service, Judge R.W. Dyche III of London, KY. Judge 
Dyche is retiring from the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Third Appellate 
District, First Division, after 20 years of honorable service. He began 
his legal career as a clerk for the law firm of Allen & Bledsoe, and 
after the firm dissolved,

[[Page S6452]]

he opened his own office. He accepted an appointment as a judge of the 
27th Judicial District in 1978 and 8 years later was appointed to the 
Kentucky Court of Appeals.
  Judge Dyche plans to take some time off to begin his retirement. From 
there he said he has a couple of possibilities lined up. I am sure his 
wife Jane and his sons Robert and John are looking forward to seeing 
more of him.
  On June 12 of this year, The Sentinel Echo published an article 
highlighting Judge Dyche's accomplishments while in office as well as 
the excellence with which he carried out his job. I ask unanimous 
consent that the full article be printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        [From the Sentinel Echo]

                  Judge Dyche Retiring After 20 Years

                         (By Carl Keith Greene)

       Twenty years after his appointment and subsequent election 
     to the Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge R.W. Dyche III will 
     retire on June 20.
       Dyche, 55, who began his career as a law clerk for Baxter 
     Bledsoe and Larry Allen, served also as Laurel District Judge 
     for eight years.
       ``I look forward to a new chapter, learning new things, 
     learning different things, I've become even more convinced 
     lately that when you quit learning you begin dying. I'm 
     learning a few new things,'' he said in an interview 
     Thursday.
       Dyche entered the legal profession because, ``It's all that 
     ever interested me. I had a phase of electronics and 
     electrical engineering. But starting about my freshman year 
     in high school it's all that ever interested me.''
       He said the best thing about being a judge for him is 
     ``getting to see the good side of humanity. Unfortunately, 
     along with that you also see the bad side.''
       He said the good side is made up of generosity, love, 
     attorneys who go out of their way to represent their client 
     well--sometimes at no cost--people who just want to do the 
     right thing.
       On the bad side, he has seen families who fight, or people 
     who abuse or neglect children. He said these are the two 
     worst scenarios.
       Though it is hard to pinpoint a typical case Dyche has 
     heard, he said in the criminal side, anymore, is a drug case, 
     and generally, the most common grounds for claimed error is 
     illegal search and seizure.
       ``Very often the drugs are found on the person or in close 
     proximity and the only out they have is to say the search is 
     illegal.''
       In civil court, ``unfortunately domestic things are growing 
     and growing and growing. It's such a good thing that we're 
     going to get a family court here soon,'' he said.
       Dyche estimated there are approximately 75 percent of 
     affirmations of lower court cases and 25 percent reversals.
       He said the case that stands out in his memory is from 
     about 1988 or 1989 ``where a child was taken from the mother 
     at the hospital before she ever got the chance to show 
     whether she could be a good mother, based on past history and 
     predictability. I wrote an opinion reversing that saying, it 
     could be under very close supervision but she should be 
     given the chance.''
       He said he prides himself, and his staff, on being able to 
     write opinions that litigants can understand, not written in 
     what is called ``legalese'' but written in plain English and 
     short concise form so they can understand why they won or 
     lost.
       Dyche is a 1968 graduate of London High School. He earned 
     his bachelor's degree from Danville's Centre College and his 
     law degree at the University of Kentucky College of Law in 
     1975.
       He and his wife of 27 years, Jane, also a lawyer, have two 
     sons, Robert, 24, who is in law school and John, 13, an 
     eight-grader at North Laurel Middle School.
       In his years in the Laurel judicial system he has seen the 
     court system grow from one circuit judge, Bob Helton; one 
     district judge, Lewis Hopper; one trial commissioner, Dyche; 
     and one pre-trial services officer, Fred Yaden.
       Now there are two circuit judges, two district judges, at 
     least two trial commissioners, and three or four pre-trial 
     officers, he said. The case load has, with the county, grown 
     so much.
       ``I can remember in the late 70s when Les Yaden was sheriff 
     there was Les, Oscar Brown, Earl Bailey as deputies and 
     Evelene Greene and Les' daughter Janie making up the entire 
     Sheriff's office staff.''
       Now there are many, many who are needed.
       Looking ahead, Dyche said he is going to take some time off 
     to start out with, and is exploring, a couple of 
     possibilities.
       ``I'm certainly not going to be idle,'' he said.
       He said he has learned a few things about doing his job 
     since he began the journey.
       ``I came into this at age 27 single, and early on I was 
     having and I was lecturing a father, `Oh you need to do this, 
     you need to do that. Here's what you do with your son.' I was 
     giving him down the road. The guy looked at me and said, 
     ``Buddy, you got any children?'' I said `no.' He said `huh.' 
     ''
       He concluded, ``I'm much more understanding when things 
     don't go exactly as you planned in raising children.''
       ``I appreciated how good everybody's been to me, the 
     cooperation of the people, my staff, Sandy Slusher and Julie 
     Ledford, and particularly my friend Fred Yaden. I'll be 
     around. I won't go far.''
                                  ____


                           A Tribute to Dyche

          (By Sandy Slusher, Appeals Court Judicial Secretary)

       Working at the Court of Appeals has been the highlight of a 
     career and life that I thought would never happen. I took a 
     job years ago with the law firm of Allen & Bledsoe. Robbie 
     Dyche was in law school and clerked at the firm. I found him 
     a most interesting person when he was in the office.
       When the firm dissolved, Robbie decided to open his own 
     office. He asked if I would like to work for him, and I 
     eagerly accepted. That was 30 years ago. His practice grew 
     but he realized public service was truly his calling. In 1978 
     he accepted an appointment as district judge under the new 
     judicial reform system, Eldon Keller, (the Circuit court 
     Clerk at the time), hired me as a deputy clerk. I still was 
     able to work with Judge Dyche, as well as Judge Lewis Hopper.
       In 1986, Judge Dyche was appointed to the Kentucky Court of 
     Appeals and asked if I would like to work as his secretary. 
     The judge, Julie Ledford, our staff attorney, and I went to 
     Frankfort together to be sworn in.
       In Judge Dyche's office, we have formed a small family unit 
     supporting each other through divorce, marriage, births, 
     deaths graduations, illnesses both in the office and in 
     extended family members. We have celebrated with each other 
     at the happy times, and embraced and consoled each other 
     through the heartbreaking moments. It had been so good.
       Throughout Judge Dyche's tenure our office policy has been 
     to write opinions that are concise, strictly based on law, 
     easily understood by the average citizen as well as the 
     judiciary, and rendered as soon as possible. Matters 
     involving child custody always took precedent over other 
     matters and Judge Dyche consistently would volunteer to take 
     additional cases involving child custody in order to fast 
     track these matters through the Court.
       I have formed friendships that will endure for the 
     remainder of my time on earth. If the opportunity presented 
     itself, I would do it all over without a moment of 
     hesitation!

                          ____________________