Combs rose to national prominence by successfully defending Appalachian Volunteers Margaret and Alan McSurely against charges of sedition in a case that took 15 years to fully adjudicate.
After a long legal career, Combs unseated incumbent Elijah M. Hogge for a seat on the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
[4] After helping combat flooding near the town on Betsy Layne, Combs and some friends purchased a bottle of whisky before returning home.
[2] After completing a law curriculum at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, he was admitted to the bar in 1951 and began practice in his native Eastern Kentucky.
[4] The McSurelys were part of an organization known as the Southern Conference Educational Fund, which advocated that the area's poor citizens band together to oust the incumbent political leaders and elect a "people's government.
"[7] On August 11, 1967, Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Ratliff and sheriff's deputies raided the couple's home in Pike County and arrested them on charges of sedition.
[8] The sedition law was eventually found unconstitutional, and on January 7, 1983, a federal jury awarded the McSurelys $2 million for violation of the Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure.
[7][9][10] After 32 years in private practice, Combs was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1983, defeating incumbent Elijah M. Hogge by almost 4,000 votes.
[13] He charged that Stephenson had too often sided with wealthy litigants over poorer ones including denying compensation to injured workers and upholding prohibitions on felons owning firearms, which Combs said violated the Second Amendment.
[14] Following an investigation, the Kentucky Judicial Retirement and Removal Commission ordered him suspended from the bench for three months without pay for violating the code in February 1990.
[14] The suspension was not carried out pending the outcome of Combs' appeal, and it was overturned in a case that ultimately was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
[22] Combs and his son, Ghent, were arrested in 1995 after a police raid on his house produced a cannabis plant as well as 4 ounces (110 g) of processed marijuana.
[25] Combs later blamed his inconsistency on his Alzheimer's-like memory disorder that made it difficult for him to remember details like when he began smoking marijuana.
[23] Police noticed the drug's odor when coming to the home to serve an arrest warrant against Combs' older son on a drunk driving charge.
[28] District Judge James Allen confined Combs' younger son to the Floyd County Juvenile Detention Center on grounds that he was a danger to himself and others.
[28] A Floyd County judge entered a plea of "innocent" on Combs' behalf after he failed to appear at his arraignment, which his attorney said was due to his memory disorder.