Wilbur v. Howard

A group of ministers and residents (collectively, the ministers) (plaintiff) of Kenton County, Kentucky (the county) petitioned a federal district court to hear a disbarment proceeding against Commonwealth’s attorney Ulie J. Howard (defendant). The petition alleged that Howard, for more than half of his 20 years in office, had accepted bribes to enable illegal gambling operations in the district. The district court accepted jurisdiction of the disbarment proceeding, at which over 80 county residents testified regarding widespread gambling activity in the county, including slot machines accessed by children, the use of multiple unlisted telephone lines to convey horse-racing information, and $85,000 in federal occupational taxes paid annually by more than 300 slot-machine operators. Although the names and addresses of the slot-machine operators were easily accessible from tax and licensing records, Howard did not pursue this information or otherwise prosecute gambling violations. After a circuit-court judge brought indictments before a grand jury, Howard worked out plea deals that resulted in reduced or dismissed charges. In response to the petition, Howard filed a motion to dismiss, denying he knew about illegal gambling activity and claiming that, although he was ready and willing to present witnesses to the grand jury, he never received a proper affidavit and complaint initiating prosecution.