Gregory F. Van Tatenhove

Gregory Frederick Van Tatenhove also known as Greg Van Tatenhove (born April 2, 1960) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Gregory Frederick Van Tatenhove
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2006
Appointed by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Karl Spillman Forester
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky
In office 2001–2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Joseph Leslie Famularo[1]
Succeeded by	Amul Thapar[2]
Personal details
Born	Gregory Frederick Van Tatenhove April 2, 1960[3] Los Angeles, California
Education	Asbury College (BA) University of Kentucky College of Law (JD)

Education and career

Van Tatenhove was born in Los Angeles, California.[4] He attended high school in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Asbury College (now Asbury University) in 1982.[5][6] After completing his undergraduate degree, he attended the University of Kentucky College of Law where he obtained a Juris Doctor in 1989. He was a law clerk for Judge Eugene E. Siler, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, from 1989 to 1990. Van Tatenhove served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice from 1990 to 1994. From 1994 to 2001, he was Chief of staff & legal counsel for Congressman Ron Lewis. In 2001 he was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, a post he held from 2001 to 2005.[7]

Federal judicial service

On September 13, 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Van Tatenhove to fill a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky previously held by Karl Spillman Forester. Van Tatenhove was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005, and received his commission on January 5, 2006.[8]

Notable cases

On January 25, 2016, Van Tatenhove ruled in favor of the Christian apologetics organization Answers in Genesis in the case of Ark Encounter LLC et al. vs. Bob Stewart et al., ordering the state to commence processing the application for the tax rebate incentives for the Ark Encounter theme park that would become available once the attraction opened.[9][10] Bevin announced that the state would not appeal Van Tatenhove's decision, and later replaced four of the nine members on the Tourism Development Finance Authority.[11]

On May 8, 2020, Van Tatenhove ruled that Kentucky churches could hold in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky starting May 10. In his ruling, he stated that in-person meeting is essential for the church, writing, in part, "The orders at issue do not simply restrict religious expression; they restrict religious expression in an attempt to protect the public health during a global pandemic."[12][13]

References

1. https://www.congress.gov/nomination/107th-congress/939
2. https://www.congress.gov/nomination/109th-congress/1345
3. Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, Volume 4, Part 2
4. "The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse". University of Michigan Law School. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
5. "Gregory F. Van Tatenhove - 2002 A Award Recipient". Retrieved 27 February 2012.
6. Hayes, Bill (August 9, 2001). "Mountains left out of federal judicial appointments". Middlesboro Daily News. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
7. Zuckerbrod, Nancy (August 4, 2001). "Bush picks U.S. attorneys for Kentucky". Daily News. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
8. King, Lisa (January 12, 2006). "Van Tatenhove confirmed by Senate for judgeship". Central Kentucky News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
9. Lovan, Dylan (January 25, 2016). "Ark Encounter Builder Wins Legal Battle Over Tax Incentive". WPCO.com. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
10. Caproni, Erin (January 26, 2016). "Judge Rules on Ark Encounter Incentives". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
11. Blackford, Linda B. (April 27, 2016). "Noah's Ark park – State awards $18 million tax break to theme park". Lexington Herald-Leader.
12. "Federal judge rules all Kentucky churches can have in-person services starting this Sunday". www.wkyt.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
13. Wolfson, Andrew (2020-05-08). "Federal judge rules that Kentucky churches can hold in-person services starting Sunday". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2020-05-21.

Sources

• Gregory F. Van Tatenhove at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.