Jasmin, Ernest Augustus, Sr. "Ernie"
(born: October 18, 1934 - died: April 30, 2004)Born in Jacksonville, FL, Ernest A. Jasmin became the first African American chief prosecutor in Kentucky when he was elected Commonwealth Attorney in 1987. He created a narcotics unit with four prosecutors for the handling of drug cases and established prosecutor training seminars. Jasmin earned degrees from Florida A & M and the University of Louisville Law School. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1967, and in 2004 he received the Trailblazer Award from the Louisville Bar Association. For more see African American Biographies: profiles of 558 current men and women, by W. L. Hawkins; "Kentucky's first Black Commonwealth's Attorney," The Louisville Defender, 03/13/1992; and "First Black to serve as state prosecutor - Ernest Jasmin had number of prominent cases," Lexington Herald-Leader, 05/02/2004, City & Region section, p. C4.
