Jefferson Circuit Court (Family Trial Division) Jerry J. Bowles Division 6

Jerry J. Bowles is a Circuit Judge in Jefferson County where he presides in the Family Court. Originally appointed by the Governor, he has twice been elected to his current seat. Judge Bowles is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. His experience includes his work as a Trial Attorney with the Jefferson District Public Defenders Office, private practice where he specialized in domestic relations law and general litigation and twelve years as a prosecutor in the County Attorneys Office where he initiated and served as the Director and Chief Prosecutor of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.

Judge Bowles has been active at the local, state and national level regarding issues of Family Violence. He has served as a member of Kentucky Attorney General's Task Force on Domestic Violence; the Kentucky Legislative Task Force on Domestic Violence; Kentucky Legislative Parenting and Child Custody Task Force; the Jefferson County Office for Women Advisory Council; and as Technical Advisor to the Department of Justice under the Violence Against Women Act. The Judge served as Vice-Chair of the Kentucky Governor's Council on Domestic Violence; on the Jefferson Family Court Emergency Protection Order Committee; the Governor's Judicial Advisory Committee, the Kentucky Medical Association Subcommittee on Domestic Violence, the Kentucky Bar Association Committee on Child Protection and Domestic Violence, and on the American Judges Association Domestic Violence Committee and currently Co-chairs the Louisville Metro Domestic Violence Prevention Coordinating Council and Chairs the Louisville Metro Fatality Review Committee.

Additionally, Judge Bowles served on the Board of Sullivan University, Institute for Paralegal Studies, the Board of the YMCA Safe Place, VNA Medical and Professional Board of Jewish Hospital Health Network, SPAVA (Society for Prevention of Aggressiveness and Violence Among Adolescents, Inc.) Board of Directors and the Board of the Portland Child Development Center. Judge Bowles serves on the Board of the Mary Byron Foundation, a national foundation funded by the VINE Company to award grants and funding for the prevention of domestic violence.

Judge Bowles has lectured extensively on family violence issues for such groups as the Kentucky Bar Association; the Louisville Bar Association; Kentucky Adult Services Institute; Kentucky Legislature; Kentucky Department for Mental Health; Kentucky Academy of Justice; Kentucky Association of Trial Attorneys; various state and local law enforcement agencies; Jefferson County Teachers Association; Kentucky Dental Association; National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Indiana Resource and Training Institute on Violence Against Women; Ohio Domestic Violence Coalition; Department of Justice STOP Technical Assistance Project; and the Monterey County, California Annual Domestic Violence Conference.

In 2003, Judge Bowles traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan where he presented to Kazakh judges at a national workshop on Domestic Violence and Judicial Independence sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department and the ABA's Central and Eastern European Law Institute. Most recently, Judge Bowles was invited to consult with the Minister of State and the Crown Court in London, England regarding the implementation of an integrated Family Court and Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

In 1994, as a prosecutor, he received the Kentucky Victim's Coalition, Inc.'s, Kentucky Prosecutor of the Year Award.