Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert

(Retired as of June 27, 2008)

3rd Supreme Court District

State Capitol, Room 231
700 Capitol Avenue
Frankfort, Ky. 40601
502-564-4162

Rockcastle County Judicial Center
P.O. Box 989
Mt. Vernon, Ky. 40456
606-256-9030

After a decade as chief justice and nearly 22 years as a justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert has decided to leave the court and join the Senior Judge Program. His resignation will be effective June 27, 2008.

"We have made great progress in the last decade to improve Kentucky courts and make them more responsive to the needs of Kentucky’s families and children," said Chief Justice Lambert. "As with any individual’s efforts, however, there comes a time to move on.

"I believe it’s a mistake to remain for too long in a high-level position in government," he said. "When I became chief justice, it was with the full intention of serving only two four-year terms. However, due to a massive number of judicial elections in 2006 and due to significant changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court at that time, I felt a duty to stay through the period of transition. I’m happy to say that the Court of Justice continues to operate smoothly and this is an appropriate time for me to move on to other professional opportunities."

Link to full news release

Chief Justice Lambert was elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky in 1986 by the citizens of the 3rd Supreme Court District, which is comprised of 27 counties in Southcentral Kentucky. In 1998, he became Kentucky’s fourth chief justice through a vote of his fellow justices. He began a second four-year term as Chief Justice in 2002 and a third term as Chief Justice in 2006. His current eight-year term as a justice of the Supreme Court runs through 2010.

During his tenure, Chief Justice Lambert has focused on implementing cutting-edge programs in technology, court records, judicial education, justice facilities, pretrial services, promotion of women, and Family and Drug courts. As a result, the Kentucky court system is proving to be one of the Commonwealth’s finest achievements. Chief Justice Lambert counts among his most significant accomplishments the 2002 passage of the amendment that made Family Court a permanent part of the Kentucky Constitution.

The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy gave Chief Justice Lambert its Robert F. Stephens Public Service Award in 2006. In 2004, he received the Civil Rights Award from both the Northern Kentucky NAACP and the Lexington NAACP for his commitment to eliminating discrimination. In 2003, he was awarded the Kentucky Bar Association President’s Special Service Award. He was given the Kentucky Public Advocate Award in 2001. In 2000, the Kentucky Bar Association named him Outstanding Judge and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals gave him its Leadership Award.

In October 2007, U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed Chief Justice Lambert to a three-year membership on the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States. The Judicial Conference of the United States established the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction in 1987 to study proposed changes in federal jurisdiction and to serve as a liaison with the state courts.

He is a former board member of the Conference of Chief Justices and Eastern Kentucky University. He currently serves as board chair of the Judicial Form Retirement Plan and the Rockcastle Hospital and Respiratory Care Center in Mt. Vernon, Ky.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., and a juris doctor from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, which gave him its Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a native of Rockcastle County and resides in Mt. Vernon with his wife, Debra, an attorney. They have two sons, Joseph and John. 

The Supreme Court, which is Kentucky’s highest court, is comprised of seven justices elected from districts across Kentucky. The Chief Justice is elected by his or her fellow justices for a term of four years. As executive head of the statewide judicial system, the Chief Justice oversees the Administrative Office of the Courts and the more than 4,000 employees of the Court of Justice, including the elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. He also submits a biennial budget to the Kentucky General Assembly and executes the Judicial Branch budget.