Debra H. Lambert

Debra 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 7, 2019
Preceded by	Daniel J. Venters
Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
	In office; January 5, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Preceded by	Michael Caperton
Succeeded by	Jonathan Spalding
Judge of the 28th Kentucky Circuit Court
	In office; September 1, 1999 – January 1, 2007
Preceded by	Circuit created by 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 517
Succeeded by	Walter F. Maguire
Personal details
Spouse	Joseph Lambert
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 top-two primary in May 2018, with her and her nearest opponent Daniel Ballou advancing to the general election.^[4] On November 6, 2018, she received 66.63% of the vote to Ballou's 33.37%.^[5] She assumed office on January 7, 2019. On September 19, 2024, she was elected by her colleagues as the next chief justice. Her term began on January 6, 2025.^[6]

Electoral history

2000

2000 28th Kentucky Circuit Family Court, 3rd division special election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Debra Hembree Lambert (incumbent)	18,664	68.4
	Nonpartisan	Michael Louis Duncan	8,637	31.6
Total votes			27,301	100.0

2006

2006 28th Kentucky Circuit Family Court, 3rd division election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Walter F. Maguire	15,985	60.6
	Nonpartisan	Debra Hembree Lambert (incumbent)	10,398	39.4
Total votes			26,383	100.0

2014

2014 Kentucky Court of Appeals 3rd district, 1st division election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Debra Hembree Lambert	74,866	53.4
	Nonpartisan	Michael O. Caperton (incumbent)	65,243	46.6
Total votes			140,109	100.0

2018

2018 Kentucky Supreme Court 3rd district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Debra Hembree Lambert	95,237	65.1
	Nonpartisan	Dan Ballou	51,075	34.9
Total votes			146,312	100.0

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Court of Appeals Debra Hembree Lambert". courts.ky.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
^ Latek, Tom (25 August 2017). "Somerset judge to seek spot on Kentucky Supreme Court". Kentucky Today. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
^ "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.
^ Estep, Bill (2018-05-23). "Second spot in Kentucky Supreme Court runoff decided by just 51 votes". kentucky.com. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
^ Harris, Christopher (7 November 2018). "Lambert earns spot on Kentucky Supreme Court". Commonwealth Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
^ "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 Laurance B. VanMeter	Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court 2025–present	Incumbent

This biography of a state judge in Kentucky is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[COA-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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Kentucky
U.S. senators	Mitch McConnell Rand Paul
State government	Andy Beshear, Governor Jacqueline Coleman, Lieutenant Governor Michael Adams, Secretary of State Russell Coleman, Attorney General Mark Metcalf, Treasurer Allison Ball, Auditor Jonathan Shell, Agriculture Commissioner
Senate	Robert Stivers, President David P. Givens, President pro tempore Max Wise, Majority Leader Gerald Neal, Minority Leader
House	David Osborne, Speaker David Meade, Speaker pro tempore Steven Rudy, Majority Leader Pamela Stevenson, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Debra H. Lambert, Chief Justice Robert B. Conley, Deputy Chief Justice Michelle M. Keller Christopher S. Nickell Kelly Thompson Angela McCormick Bisig Pamela R. Goodwine, Justices

v t e Chief justices of state and insular area supreme courts
Chief Justice of the United States: John Roberts
AL Sarah Hicks Stewart AK Susan M. Carney AZ Ann Timmer AR Karen R. Baker CA Patricia Guerrero CO Monica Márquez CT Raheem L. Mullins DE Collins J. Seitz Jr. FL Carlos G. Muñiz¹ GA Michael P. Boggs HI Mark E. Recktenwald ID G. Richard Bevan IL Mary Jane Theis IN Loretta Rush IA Susan Christensen KS Marla Luckert KY Debra H. Lambert LA John L. Weimer ME Valerie Stanfill MD Matthew J. Fader MA Kimberly S. Budd MI Elizabeth T. Clement MN Natalie Hudson MS Michael K. Randolph MO Mary Rhodes Russell MT Cory Swanson NE Jeffrey J. Funke NV Elissa F. Cadish NH Gordon J. MacDonald NJ Stuart Rabner NM David K. Thomson¹ NY Rowan D. Wilson NC Paul Martin Newby ND Jon J. Jensen OH Sharon L. Kennedy OK Dustin Rowe² OR Meagan Flynn PA Debra Todd RI Paul Suttell SC John W. Kittredge SD Steven R. Jensen TN Holly M. Kirby TX Jimmy Blacklock³ UT Matthew B. Durrant VT Paul Reiber VA S. Bernard Goodwyn WA Debra L. Stephens WV William R. Wooton WI Annette Ziegler WY Kate M. Fox Federal districts: DC Anna Blackburne-Rigsby Territories: AS Michael Kruse GU Robert Torres MP Alexandro Castro PR Maite Oronoz Rodríguez VI Rhys Hodge
Italics indicate appointed supreme courts 1. Chief justice elected biennially by the court from among its members 2. Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge Scott Rowland 3. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge David Schenck