Current:Home > StocksKentucky’s Supreme Court will soon have a woman at its helm for the first time-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Kentucky’s Supreme Court will soon have a woman at its helm for the first time
View Date:2024-12-23 23:15:47
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — For the first time, Kentucky’s Supreme Court will have a woman at its helm, after justices on Monday selected Debra Hembree Lambert to serve as the next chief justice.
Lambert, who is currently the deputy chief justice, will serve a four-year term at the top of the judicial system beginning Jan. 6, court officials announced.
“While it may be notable that I will be the first woman to serve as chief justice in Kentucky, I am most proud to be a small-town kid from the mountains of eastern Kentucky who has had a lot of support and encouragement along the way,” Lambert said.
She will succeed Laurance B. VanMeter as chief justice. VanMeter opted not to seek reelection this year.
The state Supreme Court has four men and three women as justices. Lambert said she’s honored to have been chosen by her colleagues and said it’s not easy leading the state’s judicial branch.
“Our judges, clerks and administrative employees handle large dockets and special programs with great efficiency,” she said.
VanMeter praised his soon-to-be successor as a hard-working and dedicated judge with more than 17 years of experience on the bench, including as a judge in family court and on the state Court of Appeals.
“I am confident that Chief Justice-elect Lambert will lead the judicial branch with integrity and ensure the efficient and fair administration of justice,” said VanMeter, who assumed the role of chief justice at the start of 2023.
Lambert was elected as a Supreme Court justice in 2018, and her district includes portions of eastern, southern and central Kentucky. She heads the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health.
Before reaching the appellate bench, Lambert was a judge for a judicial circuit that included Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties. As a family court judge, she created the first drug court in the area. For several years, she volunteered in middle schools, working with at-risk children and families to help them avoid truancy charges.
Lambert volunteers as a certified suicide prevention trainer, teaching others how to intervene to prevent suicide.
The Bell County native earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1989. She practiced law in Mount Vernon, serving as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney and city attorney for the city in eastern Kentucky. In 2007, Lambert resumed her private law practice there until her election to the Court of Appeals in 2014.
veryGood! (75143)
Related
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul press conference highlights: 'Problem Child' goads 'Iron Mike'
- Montana education board discusses trends, concerns in student achievement
- Kamala Harris is preparing to lead Democrats in 2024. There are lessons from her 2020 bid
- 2022 model Jeep and Ram vehicles under investigation by feds after multiple safety complaints
- Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
- New Federal Grants Could Slash U.S. Climate Emissions by Nearly 1 Billion Metric Tons Through 2050
- Blake Lively Jokes She Wasn't Invited to Madonna's House With Ryan Reynolds
- Missing Arizona woman and her alleged stalker found dead in car: 'He scared her'
- A Pipeline Runs Through It
- Simone Biles' husband, Jonathan Owens, will get to watch Olympics team, all-around final
Ranking
- Jessica Simpson's Husband Eric Johnson Steps Out Ringless Amid Split Speculation
- US Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey is resigning from office following his corruption conviction
- Officials release video of officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911
- Mark Carnevale, former PGA Tour winner and golf broadcaster, dies a week after working his last tournament
- Secret Service Agent Allegedly Took Ex to Barack Obama’s Beach House
- Emma Hayes realistic about USWNT work needed to get back on top of world. What she said
- Second man arrested in the shooting of a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper
- Tyson Campbell, Jaguars agree to four-year, $76.5 million contract extension, per report
Recommendation
-
Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
-
Commission says New York judge should be removed over profane rant at graduation party
-
Safeguarding the heartbeat: Native Americans in Upper Midwest protect their drumming tradition
-
Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary convicted of directing a terrorist group
-
Bo the police K-9, who located child taken at knifepoint, wins Hero Dog Awards 2024
-
Data shows hurricanes and earthquakes grab headlines but inland counties top disaster list
-
Missouri judge overturns the murder conviction of a man imprisoned for more than 30 years
-
Kathy Hilton Reacts to Kyle Richards' Ex Mauricio Umansky Kissing Another Woman