Christopher Shea Nickell (born 1958 or 1959)
is an American lawyer who has served a justice of the
Kentucky Supreme Court.
Education
Nickell, a native of
Paducah, Kentucky, graduated from the city's
Paducah Tilghman High School in 1977, followed by a
Bachelor of Arts from
DePauw University in 1981 and 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 ...
from the
University of Kentucky College of Law in 1984.
Career
Prior to being appointed as a judge, Nickell practiced law for 22 years.
He served as an instructor at
Murray State University
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...
teaching Insurance and Risk Management and he also taught at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teaching jurisprudence.
State court service
In 2006, Nickell was elected to be a judge of the
Kentucky Court of Appeals.
Kentucky Supreme Court service
On February 6, 2019, Nickell announced he was running for the seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court vacated by the retirement of
Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to:
People
*Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player
*Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s
*Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profes ...
.
He was elected on November 5, 2019, defeating state senator
Whitney Westerfield.
He was sworn into office on December 11, 2019.
Associations and memberships
Nickell has been a member of the Paducah Lions Club since 1989. He is also an
Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
, he has been recognized as a
Kentucky Colonel, Honorary Captain of the ''
Belle of Louisville'' and a
Sagamore of the Wabash.
He is a Life Sponsor of
Ducks Unlimited. He is also a
32 Degree Mason, a Silver Life Member of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation, a
Gideon
Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible.
Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiez ...
, and a deacon at Paducah's Heartland Church.
Personal life
Nickell and his wife, Carolyn S. Watson are both a
Melvin Jones Fellow.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
1950s births
Living people
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American judges
21st-century American lawyers
Baptists from Kentucky
DePauw University alumni
Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky lawyers
Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Murray State University faculty
Paducah Tilghman High School alumni
People from Paducah, Kentucky
University of Kentucky College of Law alumni
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty
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