FRANKFORT, Ky., Oct. 29, 2024 – Chief Justice-elect Debra Hembree Lambert has appointed Justice Robert B. Conley as deputy chief justice. The deputy chief justice fills in when the chief justice recuses in a case or an administrative matter before the Supreme Court of Kentucky.
“Justice Conley is a man of exceptional character and good judgment,” Justice Lambert said. “I know he will ably serve in this new role with integrity and will do all he can to advance the work of the Court of Justice.”
Justice Lambert, who is the current deputy chief justice, and Deputy Chief Justice Conley will begin serving Jan. 6, 2025.
Justice Conley was elected from the 7th Supreme Court District of 32 counties in Eastern Kentucky and has served on the court since January 2021. He joined the state’s highest court after 26 years as a trial court judge for Greenup and Lewis counties.
In 1994, he was appointed by Gov. Brereton Jones to fill a district judge vacancy in the 20th Judicial District of Greenup and Lewis and then was elected to that seat for three successive terms. In 2006, he was elected to the circuit bench for the two counties, where he served until his election to the Supreme Court. While a circuit judge, he also presided over Greenup/Lewis Drug Court, which was recognized by the National Drug Court Institute in 2010 as a mentor court to help train Drug Court personnel from all over the Eastern United States.
Prior to taking the bench, he worked in Ashland as an associate in the law firm of McKenzie, Woolery & Emrick, a corporate attorney with Addington Mining/Addington Environmental and as attorney for the Greenup County School Board.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business from the University of Kentucky and a juris doctor from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law. He worked his way through UK and his first year of law school as a steelworker for ARMCO Steel.
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 Supreme Court districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion to be published, which means that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky.
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