As the Kentucky Supreme Court prepared to hear Fletcher's appeal on whether the grand jury could continue to indict people covered by his blanket pardon, two of the court's seven justices recused themselves from the case, citing conflicts of interest. Kentucky's constitution provides that, in the case of more than one recusal on the court, the governor is to appoint special justices to replace them. Accordingly, Fletcher named two replacements, but one of those – Circuit Judge Jeffrey Burdette – declined to serve on grounds that he had contributed to Fletcher's 2003 gubernatorial campaign. Fletcher then named another special justice to replace Burdette, consistent with a precedent set by former Democratic Governor Brereton Jones. Stumbo challenged this third appointment, claiming that Burdette's refusal to serve created only one vacancy on the court, and that the case could be tried with six justices. The Kentucky Supreme Court sustained Stumbo's complaint. In a 4–2 ruling issued May 18, 2006, the Kentucky Supreme Court barred the grand jury from issuing further indictments against individuals covered by Fletcher's blanket pardon, reversing the Court of Appeals. The ruling did not affect indictments for crimes allegedly committed after the pardon was issued. The Supreme Court also held that the grand jury could issue a general report of its findings at the conclusion of its investigation, but left open the question of whether the names of unindicted individuals could appear in the report. A later decision by the Court of Appeals found that unindicted individuals could not be named in the report.