Lambert elected as first woman Kentucky Supreme Court chief justice, replacing VanMeter
Starting in 2025, the Kentucky Supreme Court will be lead by a woman chief justice for the first time, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Debra Hembree Lambert, who currently serves as deputy chief justice, was announced as the next chief justice of the commonwealth on Monday. She was voted into the four-year term which will begin on January 6, 2025.
Lambert has served as a judge or justice for 17 years working as a family court circuit judge, court of appeals justice and with the Supreme Court. She is the head of the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health.
The chief justice-elect previously served four years with the court of appeals, and was a circuit judge of the family court division of the 28th Judicial Circuit, including Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties. She was appointed to that seat in 1999 by then-governor Paul E. Patton.
While a family court judge, she created the first drug court in the area and was recognized for her efforts in 2002 when the National Association of Drug Court Professionals inducted her into the Stanley M. Goldstein Drug Court Hall of Fame, according to the court system.
Lambert volunteers as a certified suicide prevention trainer, training others on how to properly intervene to prevent suicide.
In this new role, she will succeed the state’s current chief justice, Laurance VanMeter, who described her as “hard-working, dedicated, and experienced” in the Kentucky justice system.
VanMeter was elected to the position in November 2022, and announced in 2023 he would not seek re-election to the supreme court.
“I am confident that Chief Justice-elect Lambert will lead the Judicial Branch with integrity and ensure the efficient and fair administration of justice for this great commonwealth,” VanMeter said in a statement.
Lambert is a native of Bell County, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University and a law degree at the University of Kentucky. She and her husband, Joseph Sharpe, reside on Lake Cumberland in Burnside in Pulaski County. She is the mother of two sons, Joseph Patrick Lambert and John Ryan Lambert, and two stepdaughters, Jessica Sharpe Guffey and Chelsea Sharpe Woolums.
While she is the first woman to hold the position, Lambert said she is most proud to be a “small-town kid from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.”
“I am both humbled and honored to have been elected by my colleagues to serve as the chief justice for the next four years,” she said. “I know it is certainly no small task to lead the Judicial Branch of government. Our judges, clerks and administrative employees handle large dockets and special programs with great efficiency.”
