Joseph E. Lambert (born 1948) is a former 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 o ...

. Born in

Berea, Kentucky Berea is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Berea College, a private liberal arts college. The population ...

, Lambert received a

B.S. 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 of ...

from

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educa ...

in 1970, where he became a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity, and was a staff member for United States Senator

John Sherman Cooper John Sherman Cooper (August 23, 1901 – February 21, 1991) was an American politician, jurist, and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served three non-consecutive, partial terms in the United States Senate before being elect ...

in Washington, D.C. from 1970 to 1971. He received a

J.D. JD or jd may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film * J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' * JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...

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 ...

in 1974, and thereafter served as a law clerk for Rhodes Bratcher of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (in case citations, E.D. Ky.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises approximately the Eastern half of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The United States Cou ...

, in Louisville. Lambert entered private practice in

Mount Vernon, Kentucky Mount Vernon is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the seat of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky. The intersection of U.S. Route 25 in Kentucky, U.S. Routes 25 and U.S. Route 150 (Kentucky), 1 ...

in 1975. Lambert was first elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court in November, 1986, representing the 3rd Supreme Court District. On October 5, 1998, he became chief justice. He served on the court until 2008.

References

Biennial Report off the Kentucky Court of Justice, Fiscal Year 1999 & Fiscal Year 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Joseph 1948 births Living people Chief Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Georgetown College (Kentucky) alumni University of Louisville School of Law alumni People from Berea, Kentucky People from Rockcastle County, Kentucky