Laurance Browning VanMeter (born August 28, 1958) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to its creation by constitutional amendment in 1975, the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of Ap ...

from 2023 to 2025. He was elected to the court in 2016.

Early life and education

VanMeter was born in 1958 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

and was raised in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1980 and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

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 Univers ...

in 1983.

Career

VanMeter practiced law with the firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park from 1983 to 1994. From 1994 to 1999, he was district court judge for Division 1 of the 22nd Judicial District, serving Fayette County. In 1999, he was appointed to the Fayette County Circuit Court bench, where he served until his election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2003 and served there until his elevation to the Supreme Court. He was named as acting Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in 2010.

Kentucky Supreme Court service

In 2015 VanMeter announced his candidacy for a spot on the Supreme Court due to the retirement of Mary C. Noble. He faced off against fellow Appeals Court Judge Glenn Acree on November 8, 2016, and won 74% of the vote. He began his term as a justice of the Supreme Court on January, 2017. In November 2022, he was elected to serve as chief justice following the retirement of John D. Minton Jr. His term as chief justice began on January 2, 2023. He was sworn into office on January 9, 2023, by Minton.

Personal life

VanMeter and his late wife, Lucy, are the parents of four children. He is a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

. He is a registered Republican.

References

External links

Official Biography on Kentucky Supreme Court website
* , - 1958 births 21st-century American judges Chief justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court Kentucky lawyers Kentucky Republicans Living people People from Lexington, Kentucky University of Kentucky College of Law alumni Vanderbilt University alumni {{Kentucky-state-judge-stub