Debra Hembree Lambert is an American lawyer who has served as an associate 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 2019. She previously served as a judge of 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 2015 to 2018.

Education

Lambert received her bachelor's degree from

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...

in 1983 and her

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 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 1989.

Career

Lambert practiced law in

Mount Vernon, Kentucky Mount Vernon is a home rule-class city and the seat of Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky. The intersection of U.S. Routes 25 and 150 is located here. The population was 2,477 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census. Mount Vernon is part o ...

. During that time, she also served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney and city attorney for the City of Mount Vernon.

State judicial career

In 1999, then-Governor

Paul E. Patton Paul Edward Patton (born May 26, 1937) is an American politician who served as the 59th governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Because of a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, he was the first governor eligible to run for a second ter ...

appointed her to serve as circuit judge of the Family Court Division in the 28th Judicial Circuit. In 2007, Judge Lambert resumed her private practice of law in Mount Vernon until her election to the Court of Appeals in 2014.

Kentucky Supreme Court

On August 25, 2017, she made it known that she planned to run for the seat being vacated by Daniel J. Venters. She filed to run on February 1, 2018. She easily won the primary in May 2018, however it led to a runoff between her and her nearest opponent, Daniel Ballou. On November 6, 2018, she gained 66.63% of the vote to Ballou's 33.37%. She assumed office on January 6, 2019.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Eastern Kentucky University alumni Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals Kentucky lawyers Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court University of Kentucky College of Law alumni Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges {{Kentucky-state-judge-stub