KY Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect discusses her career, goals
Republished from WEKU.
In January, Kentucky will have a new state Supreme Court chief justice – and for the first time since the high court was formed in 1976, it will be a woman. Chief Justice-elect Debra Hembree Lambert was elected by her fellow Supreme Court justices. In an interview with WEKU, we asked why it took nearly 50 years for the commonwealth to have a woman as chief justice.
“I have no idea why. We have had a few fabulous lady justices on our court, but for some reason, the time is now, and I hope I’m ready for it.”
Lambert grew up in Bell County and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University before obtaining her law degree at the University of Kentucky. She was elected to the state Supreme Court in November 2018. She’s been an assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Mt. Vernon city attorney, a Circuit Family Court judge and Court of Appeals judge. When asked about the legacy she hopes to leave, she said this:
“Well, I hope they will think that I and the other justices on the court have given them a thorough and complete review, certainly I don’t expect them to think that we got everything perfectly right.”
Lambert said she hopes Kentuckians will believe she and the other Supreme Court justices reached their decisions with fair processes and in a timely fashion, adding, “Justice delayed really is justice denied.”
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Originally published by WEKU.
Republished with permission.
