Michelle Meier Keller (born 1960) is an American lawyer who has served as a 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 2013. Keller was born and raised in

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky Fort Mitchell is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,702 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Fort Mitchell was the site of one of seven Civil War fortif ...

. She attended

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern ...

, where she completed an

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of Tertiary education, post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelo ...

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

in 1980, a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1985, 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 l ...

degree in 1990, at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law. Keller worked in private practice as a

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ju ...

, and as an assistant county

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

. She was elected as a state 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. Th ...

for the 6th appellate district in November 2006, defeating rival Owen Kennedy by 63% to 37%. The

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th Attorn ...

appointed Keller to the Supreme Court of Kentucky in April 2013, to replace retired justice Wilfrid Schroder. Keller represents the 6th Supreme Court district, which covers 21 counties in

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...

. She was re-elected to a new eight-year term in November 2014, defeating challenger Teresa Cunningham by 58% to 42%. In 2022, Keller won an election challenge by Joseph Fischer.Keller reelected to Kentucky Supreme Court, beating Fischer
November 9, 2022,

AP News The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

Her current term expires on January 1, 2031. The honors Keller has received include a Donated Legal Services Award from the

Kentucky Bar Association The Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Kentucky. History In 1871, the first meeting of lawyers from across Kentucky was held in Louisville and created a voluntary association. In ...

in 2009 for her

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

work, was named Outstanding Woman of Northern Kentucky in 2012, received the Richard D. Lawrence Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northern Kentucky Bar Association in 2013 and the Liberty Bell Award in 2014, the Distinguished Lawyer of the Year Award in 2017, and received a Distinguished Judge Award in 2020.

References

1960 births Living people Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Northern Kentucky University alumni Salmon P. Chase College of Law alumni 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges {{Kentucky-state-judge-stub