Judge David A. Tapp

David A. Tapp serves as Judge of Kentucky’s 28th Circuit. He is a frequent presenter at judicial educational conferences and publishes on a wide variety of issues including electronically stored information (ESI). He served as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law, where he taught electronic discovery and digital evidence. Judge Tapp received his J.D. from the University of Louisville, a Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu, and a Bachelor of Arts from Morehead State University.
Judge Tapp currently serves as Chairperson of Kentucky’s Circuit Judges Education Committee and is responsible for developing and providing the training for all of Kentucky’s general jurisdiction and family court judges. In 2014, Judge Tapp initiated Kentucky’s new lawyer-to-judge mentoring program and authored the Transitions mentoring manual. Kentucky is one of only a few states with a formal mentoring model for newly elected or appointed judges.
Judge Tapp regularly consults with the Kentucky judiciary regarding implementation issues associated with new legislative initiatives and in 2012 was one of six jurists tasked with developing Kentucky’s novel probation supervision (SMART) program. He also is a vocal advocate for the use of evidence based strategies within Kentucky’s progressive pre-trial release system and sentencing.
In 2011, Judge Tapp received the All Rise Award from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals for work involving funding for substance abuse treatment courts. Most recently, Judge Tapp’s drug court team became one of only 15 drug courts (out of 2,900) to receive the NADCP Community Transformation Award for its continuing efforts to provide meaningful substance abuse treatment. Also in 2015, Judge Tapp successfully initiated the use of extended release Naltrexone (Vivitrol) as part of a widely acclaimed comprehensive opiate drug treatment strategy within Kentucky’s criminal justice system.