Thursday, April 24, 2008
Kentucky Chief Justice Stepping Down.
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."
Chief Justice Lambert, 59, was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1986 from the 27 southeastern Kentucky counties of the 3rd Supreme Court District. He was subsequently re-elected in 1994 and 2002. He become Kentucky’s fourth chief justice in October 1998 by a vote of his fellow justices. Chief Justice Lambert was later re-elected to two additional four-year terms as chief justice, in 2002 and in 2006.
"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."
Chief Justice Lambert, 59, was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1986 from the 27 southeastern Kentucky counties of the 3rd Supreme Court District. He was subsequently re-elected in 1994 and 2002. He become Kentucky’s fourth chief justice in October 1998 by a vote of his fellow justices. Chief Justice Lambert was later re-elected to two additional four-year terms as chief justice, in 2002 and in 2006.
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 6:52 PM 
