FRANKFORT, Ky., Nov. 15, 2022 – The justices of the Supreme Court of Kentucky voted today to elect Justice Laurance B. VanMeter as the next chief justice of the commonwealth of Kentucky. Chief Justice-elect VanMeter will serve a four-year term beginning Jan. 2, 2023. See the order on his election here.
“We appreciate Justice VanMeter’s hard work, dedication and leadership as an experienced member of the judiciary and a valued member of the Supreme Court,” Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. said. “With this election, the justices have put their trust in Justice VanMeter to uphold the integrity of the court system and ensure the efficient administration of justice across the commonwealth.”
Chief Justice-elect VanMeter will succeed Chief Justice Minton, who is retiring Jan. 1 after serving more than 14 years as administrative head of the Judicial Branch.
Justice VanMeter said he is honored to have the opportunity to serve Kentucky as the next chief justice.
“I am extremely humbled by the vote of confidence my colleagues have shown in me to be the next head of the Kentucky Court of Justice,” he said. “Of course, we are saying goodbye to our long-serving chief justice, John D. Minton Jr., who leaves incredibly large shoes to fill. I hope in some small way to live up to the standards he has set. And I need to mention Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth T. Hughes, who is also retiring. Her wisdom and leadership has greatly contributed to the stability of our courts.”
Chief Justice-elect VanMeter was elected to the Supreme Court in November 2016 from the 5th Supreme Court District. Upon taking office Jan. 2, 2017, he became the third Supreme Court justice to have served at all four levels of the Kentucky unified court system.
Justice VanMeter served 13 years as a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge from the 5th Appellate District, having been elected in November 2003 and re-elected unopposed in 2006 and 2014. Prior to becoming an appellate court judge, he was appointed and then elected to the Fayette Circuit Court bench, where he served from 1999 until his election to the Court of Appeals. He was a Fayette District Court judge from 1994 to 1999.
The 5th Supreme Court District is composed of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott and Woodford counties.
Justice VanMeter serves as chairman of the Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Kentucky Evidence Rules Review Commission. He is co-chair of the Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee and is the Supreme Court’s liaison to the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions. He formerly served on the board of trustees of the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement Systems from 2009 to 2018. He was board chairman for two terms (2012-16 and 2017-18), with an intervening term as chairman of the Judicial Retirement Fund Investment Committee (2016-17).
He served the Court of Appeals as acting chief judge in 2010 and chief judge pro tem from 2007 to 2010. He was the court’s representative on the Kentucky Judiciary Ethics Committee from 2004 to 2012 and its alternate member on the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission from 2012 to 2016. In addition, Justice VanMeter has served on the Kentucky Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Legislative Committee, the Family Court Rules and Civil Rules committees of the Supreme Court of Kentucky and the chief justice’s Fayette County Family Court Task Force. He is a frequent speaker for continuing legal education.
Justice VanMeter was born in 1958 in Lexington and was raised in Winchester. He received his undergraduate degree with a major in history in 1980 from Vanderbilt University and his juris doctor in 1983 from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Kentucky Law Journal. More recently, he earned a Master of Laws degree from Duke University School of Law in 2020 and, in July 2020, was elected to The American Law Institute.
Before joining the judiciary, he practiced law with the Lexington firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park from 1983 to 1994, where his practice areas included equine law, business planning and organizations, real estate, taxation, estate planning, trusts and probate. He has been admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and is a member of the Kentucky and Fayette County bar associations.
Justice VanMeter has been involved in a variety of community organizations, including Little League Baseball, Lexington Youth Soccer, Boys' and Girls' Clubs of America, Parents Place and the University of Kentucky Libraries National Advisory Board. He has served on the Vanderbilt University Alumni Board of Directors and the Sayre School Board of Trustees. He is a fellow of the University of Kentucky, a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation and a Founding Fellow of the Fayette County Bar Foundation. He has served on the vestry of Christ Church Cathedral, where he is a member.
Justice VanMeter is married to Fayette Circuit Court Judge Lucy A. VanMeter. He and his late wife, Lucy Bryans VanMeter, are the parents of four children.
Supreme Court of Kentucky
The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals that come before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. The Kentucky Constitution provides that the justices elect one of their own to serve as chief justice for a term of four years. The chief justice is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation.
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