Judge Considering Child Abuse Request

• {Kentucky}...Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd is considering a request by The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader, the state’s two largest newspapers, to force state social service officials to release records related to child abuse deaths and serious injuries. Jon Fleischaker, a Louisville attorney representing the newspapers, told Judge Shepherd Wednesday that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services appears to be deliberately defying his order last year to release such material. Fleischaker says, “They are acting illegally, and they are doing it in a brazen fashion.’’ Cabinet officials say they are simply seeking guidance over what, if any, material they should release while attempting to protect the privacy of those involved in abuse and neglect cases.