Debra H. Lambert

Debra Lambert
Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 2025
Preceded by	Laurance B. VanMeter
Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 2019
Preceded by	Daniel J. Venters
Personal details
Education	Eastern Kentucky University (BA) University of Kentucky (JD)

Debra Hembree Lambert is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court since 2025; serving concurrently as a justice since 2019. She previously served as a judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 2015 to 2018.

Education

Lambert received her bachelor's degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1983 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1989.[1]

Career

Lambert practiced law in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. During that time, she also served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney and city attorney for the City of Mount Vernon.[1]

State judicial career

In 1999, then-Governor Paul E. Patton appointed her to serve as circuit judge of the Family Court Division in the 28th Judicial Circuit. In 2007, Judge Lambert resumed her private practice of law in Mount Vernon until her election to the Court of Appeals in 2014.[1]

Kentucky Supreme Court

On August 25, 2017, she made it known that she planned to run for the seat being vacated by Daniel J. Venters.[2] She filed to run on February 1, 2018.[3] She easily won the primary in May 2018, however it led to a runoff between her and her nearest opponent, Daniel Ballou.[4] On November 6, 2018, she gained 66.63% of the vote to Ballou's 33.37%.[5] She assumed office on January 6, 2019. On September 19, 2024, she was elected as the next chief justice. Her term began on January 6, 2025.[6]

References

1. "Court of Appeals Debra Hembree Lambert". courts.ky.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
2. Latek, Tom (25 August 2017). "Somerset judge to seek spot on Kentucky Supreme Court". Kentucky Today. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
3. "KY Court of Appeals Judge Debra Hembree Lambert files to run for open Supreme Court seat". The Interior Journal. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
4. Estep, Bill (2018-05-23). "Second spot in Kentucky Supreme Court runoff decided by just 51 votes". kentucky.com. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
5. Harris, Christopher (7 November 2018). "Lambert earns spot on Kentucky Supreme Court". Commonwealth Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
6. "Deputy Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert elected as 7th chief justice of Kentucky" (Press release). Kentucky Bar Association. September 23, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.

External links

• Debra H. Lambert at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by Daniel J. Venters	Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court 2019–present	Incumbent
Preceded by John D. Minton Jr.	Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court 2025–present