Lisabeth Tabor Hughes, (previously Lisabeth Hughes Abramson) (born October 1955) is an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court from 2007 to 2023.Justice Lisabeth T. Hughes named Deputy Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Kentucky
/ref> She is a former nominee to be a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

Early life and education

Born in

Marion, Kentucky Marion is a home rule-class city in Crittenden County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,039. The farm communities surrounding Marion are home to a large Amish popula ...

, and raised in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, Kentucky,"Governor Fletcher Appoints Judge Abramson to Kentucky Supreme Court" Governor Ernie Fletcher's Communications Office Press Release, September 10, 2007
Hughes received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree, summa cum laude, in 1977 from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

and then received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

, magna cum laude, in 1980 from the

University of Louisville School of Law The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, commonly referred to as The University of Louisville School of Law, U of L Brandeis School of Law, or the Brandeis School of Law, is the law school of the University of Louisville. E ...

where she served as Executive Editor of the school's law review and was named Outstanding Graduate."President Obama Nominates Justice Lisabeth Tabor Hughes to Serve on the United States Court of Appeals" Houston Style Magazine, March 17, 2016
/ref>"President Obama Nominates Justice Lisabeth Tabor Hughes to Serve on the United States Court of Appeals" White House, March 17, 2016
/ref>

Professional career

Hughes began her career as an associate at the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald (now Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP) and later joined the law firm of Hirn Doheny Reed & Harper, where she became a partner in 1994. In 1996, she became a founding partner at the law firm of Reed Weitkamp Schell & Vice. While in private practice, Hughes handled a variety of business and commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. She served as a Judge on 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. The ...

from 1997 until 1998 and again after Kentucky Governor

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th ...

appointed her to the court on June 30, 2006. In 1999, Justice Hughes was appointed and then elected to the Jefferson Circuit Court, where she served for over seven years.

Kentucky Supreme Court service

On September 10, 2007, Fletcher appointed Hughes to the bench in 2007, to fill the vacant seat of the late Justice William E. McAnulty Jr. Hughes won reelection in 2008 and was elected without opposition in 2014. Hughes was named deputy chief justice by Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. on February 3, 2017. She left office on January 1, 2023.

Consideration for Sixth Circuit

In March 2014, the FBI began vetting Hughes for the seat on the

that was vacated by Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr., who retired in 2013. On March 17, 2016,

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

nominated Justice Hughes to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stating, "Justice Lisabeth Tabor Hughes has a long and impressive record of service and a history of handing down fair and judicious decisions. She will be a thoughtful and distinguished addition to the Sixth Circuit, and I am extremely pleased to put her forward." "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate" White House, March 17, 2016
/ref> Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Lisabeth Tabor 1955 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Kentucky lawyers People from Marion, Kentucky People from Princeton, Kentucky University of Louisville alumni University of Louisville School of Law alumni Women in Kentucky politics

Early life and education

Professional career

Kentucky Supreme Court service

Consideration for Sixth Circuit

See also

References