Kelly Thompson (judge) explained

Kelly Thompson
Office:	Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Term Start:	January 2, 2023
Predecessor:	John D. Minton Jr.
Education:	Western Kentucky University (BA) University of Kentucky (JD)

Kelly Thompson Jr. (born 1947 or 1948)^[1] is an American lawyer from Kentucky who has served as a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court since 2023. He was previously a judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2023.

Education

Thompson graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts and a teaching certificate. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1972.^{[2] [3]}

Career

After graduating law school, from 1972 to 1973 he was chief trial counsel for the Kentucky Department of Highways in Hardin County and from 1973 to 1974, he served as a law clerk for the Kentucky Court of Appeals. From 1974 to 2006 he was a lawyer in the Bowling Green area. He was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 2006.^[4]

Kentucky Supreme Court

On November 8, 2022, Thompson was elected as a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, defeating his challenger, healthcare lawyer Shawn Marie Alcott.^[5] He replaced retiring Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr.

Electoral history

Nonpartisan!

Votes	Pct
	Kelly Thompson Jr	align="right"	81,761		62%

Notes and References

1. Web site: Yetter . Deborah . November 8, 2022 . Election results: Bisig wins Supreme Court seat, Keller defeats Fischer in high court race . November 15, 2022 . The Courier-Journal . en-US.
2. Web site: Kelly Thompson - Kentucky Court of Justice . https://web.archive.org/web/20221109185511/https://kycourts.gov/Courts/Court-of-Appeals/Pages/Judge-Thompson.aspx . November 9, 2022 . November 15, 2022 . kycourts.gov.
3. Web site: Kelly David Thompson Judge Profile on Martindale.com . November 15, 2022 . www.martindale.com.
4. Web site: Autry . Lisa . November 9, 2022 . Appeals Court Judge from Bowling Green elected to Kentucky Supreme Court . November 15, 2022 . WKU Public Radio . en.
5. Web site: Riley . Jason . November 8, 2022 . Kentucky Supreme Court will get a few new faces, including change in chief justice . November 15, 2022 . WDRB . en.