Ky. Supreme Court Chief Justice won’t seek re-election next year
Less than one year after being selected by his peers as Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, Laurance VanMeter announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election to the bench when his term expires in 2024.
A Lexington native and University of Kentucky College of Law graduate, VanMeter has served as a member of the state judiciary for nearly 30 years and was elected by the other members of court as chief following the departure of longtime chief justice John Minton. Minton did not seek re-election when his term expired in 2022.
In a statement, VanMeter said he made the announcement now to give others in his district — which covers Fayette, its surrounding counties and Franklin County — the opportunity to file for his seat on the court.
“The greatest privileges of my professional life have been to serve the people of Central Kentucky as their Justice on the Court for the past seven years, and to have been elected by my colleagues as Chief Justice. However, the time is right for me to begin a new chapter and turn the reins over to someone else. I am announcing my decision now so that any qualified judges and lawyers can make the decision as to whether this office and consequent election campaign are appropriate for them,” VanMeter wrote.
VanMeter is the only judge on the Kentucky Supreme Court whose term is expiring next year. Terms to the Kentucky Supreme Court last eight years. Four justices on the court were just elected, or re-elected, in 2022.
Meanwhile, the state’s highest court still has some big decisions to make. Still pending before the court are cases on GOP-drawn redistricting maps, which Democrats in a lawsuit allege are unconstitutionally gerrymandered. The court has also yet to rule on the merits of a lawsuit against the state’s trigger ban on abortion.
