JudicialFinder
A state court of last resort / Established 1915

Supreme Court of Kentucky

Frankfort · A court of last resort in Kentucky.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky is the highest court in Kentucky. Its justices are chosen by nonpartisan election. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

67
Justices in history
7
Currently serving
Nonpartisan
Selection
8-yr
Term
Current justices
JusticeSince
Will T. Scott2004
Bill Cunningham2006
John D. Minton Jr.2006
Lisabeth Hughes Abramson2007
Mary C. Noble2007
Daniel J. Venters2008
Michelle M. Keller2013
Former justices
JusticeYears
Wilfrid Schroder2007–2013
William E. McAnulty Jr.2006–2007
John C. Roach2005–2006
James E. Keller1999–2006
Walter Baker1996–1996
William S. Cooper1996–2006
Martin E. Johnstone1996–2006
William Graves1995–2006
Nicholas King1995–1996
Sara W. Combs1993–1993
Janet Stumbo1993–2004
Charles H. Reynolds1991–1996
Thomas B. Spain1991–1995
Dan Jack Combs1989–1993
Joseph E. Lambert1987–2008
John D. White1986–1987
William S. Gant1983–1991
Charles M. Leibson1983–1995
Roy N. Vance1983–1991
Donald C. Wintersheimer1983–2006
Robert F. Stephens1982–1999
John J. Hara1981–1983
J Calvin Aker1979–1986
Boyce G. Clayton1976–1983
Pleas Jones1976–1979
Robert O. Lukowsky1975–1981
Marvin J. Sternberg1975–1983
Scott Jones1973–1979
Earl B. Stephenson1973–1989
C. Homer Neikirk1969–1973
Pleas Elgin Reed1969–1979
Earl T. Osborne1967–1975
Samuel S. Steinfeld1967–1985
Earl P. Hill1965–1973
John S. Palmore1959–1982
Squire N. Williams Jr.1959–1969
Amos H. Eblen1958–1960
Robert B. Bird1957–1965
Astor Hogg1955–1957
Morris C. Montgomery1954–1969
Parker W. Duncan1952–1954
Bert T. Combs1951–1955
James B. Milliken1951–1975
John R. Moremen1951–1966
Brady M. Stewart1951–1967
Roy Helm1948–1951
Thomas J. Knight1947–1951
Eugene S. Dawson1945–1947
Clyde Siler1945–1949
E Poe Harris1944–1945
Thomas B. Latimer1944–1952
Porter Sims1943–1959
Will H. Fulton1939–1944
Henry J. Tilford1939–1945
Virgil H. Baird1937–1938
James W. Stites1935–1939
Alex L. Ratliff1932–1944
Wesley Vick Perry1931–1943
William H. Rees1926–1951
Gus Thomas1915–1951

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Supreme Court of Kentucky are chosen in nonpartisan elections to 8-year terms. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project; selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data last verified 2026-06-30. Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).