[4] Palmore began his service on October 12, 1955, and was immediately tasked with prosecuting a high-profile murder case against Ben Charles Sitton, who was accused of killing police officer Jack Rainier during a traffic stop.
[6] On January 27, 1956, after just over three hours of deliberation, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Sitton and recommended a death sentence.
[6] The verdict was overturned on a technicality, and Palmore was forced to try it again, winning a second conviction on June 29, 1956; the second jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment.
[7] Due to the population and advantage and Chandler's decisive victory over Combs in the previous year's gubernatorial primary, Melton was expected to defeat Palmore easily.
[7] Palmore's successful prosecution of Sitton, combined with a strong turnout in Union County, helped him to a 626-vote victory in the primary, which was the de facto general election in the heavily Democratic district.
Brown, Jr. fell critically ill following heart surgery in 1983, Palmore advised Collins to take the role of acting governor.
[10] After Collins was elected governor, her administration hired Palmore to represent the state in several legal cases.
[11][14] Palmore received the Brandeis Medal from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1987 and was named an Alumni Fellow in 1993.
[2] He also published two autobiographies, An Opinionated Career: Memoirs of a Kentucky Judge in 2003 and From the Panama Canal to Elkhorn Creek in 2006.