Laurance Browning VanMeter (born August 28, 1958) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...

since 2023, he was elected to the court in 2016.

Early life and education

VanMeter was born in 1958 in Lexington, Kentucky and was raised in Winchester. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1980 and his Juris Doctor from the

University of Kentucky College of Law The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Universit ...

in 1983.

Legal career and state court service

He practiced law with the firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park from 1983 to 1994. From 1994 to 1999, he was district court judge for Division 1 of the 22nd Judicial District, serving Fayette County. In 1999, he was appointed to the Fayette County Circuit Court bench, where he served until his election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was elected to the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. Th ...

in November 2003 and served there until his elevation to the Supreme Court. He was named as acting Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in 2010.

Kentucky Supreme Court service

In 2015 VanMeter announced his candidacy for a spot on the Supreme Court due to the retirement of Mary C. Noble. He faced off against fellow Appeals Court Judge Glenn Acree on November 8, 2016, and won 74% of the vote. He was sworn as a justice of the Supreme Court on February 7, 2017. In November 2022, he was elected to serve as chief justice following the retirement of John D. Minton Jr. His term as chief justice began on January 2, 2023. He was sworn into office on January 9, 2023, by Minton.

Personal life

VanMeter and his late wife, Lucy, are the parents of four children. He is a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...

. He is a registered

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

References

External links

Official Biography on Kentucky Supreme Court website
* , - 1958 births 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Kentucky lawyers Kentucky Republicans Living people People from Lexington, Kentucky University of Kentucky College of Law alumni Vanderbilt University alumni {{Kentucky-state-judge-stub