Kelly Thompson (judge)
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Kelly Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | John D. Minton Jr. |
| Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – January 2, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | John D. Minton Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Kelly Mark Easton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1947 or 1948 (age 77–78) |
| Party | Republican[1] |
| Education | Western Kentucky University (BA) University of Kentucky (JD) |
Kelly David Thompson Jr. (born 1947 or 1948)[2] is an American attorney and jurist from Kentucky who has served as a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court since 2023. He was previously a judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2023.
Thompson graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts and a teaching certificate. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1972.[3][4]
Career
After graduating law school, from 1972 to 1973 he was chief trial counsel for the Kentucky Department of Highways in Hardin County and from 1973 to 1974, he served as a law clerk for the Kentucky Court of Appeals. From 1974 to 2006 he was a lawyer in the Bowling Green area.[3]
Thompson unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1983 and 2003, as well as a seat on the Bowling Green City Commission in 1995 and 1996. He was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 2006.[5]
Kentucky Supreme Court
On November 8, 2022, Thompson was elected as a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, defeating his challenger, healthcare lawyer Shawn Marie Alcott.[6] He replaced retiring Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr.[5]
2026 censure
In April 2026, Thompson was censured by both chamber's of the Kentucky General Assembly as part of the wider controversy surrounding the impeachment of circuit judge Julie Goodman.[7] Thompson authored a concurring opinion to the supreme court's decision to enjoin Goodman's removal trial, which stated the following:
Threatening to file inappropriate impeachment proceedings and following through on them to disrupt a tribunal, influence the outcome of a case, and/or to disparage a judge could result in KBA discipline for any lawyers involved if attorneys take actions in which they are acting in bad faith...Additionally, such actions can constitute the crime of intimidating a participant in the legal process via use of a threat to influence or attempt to influence that person's vote, decision, or opinion. This constitutes a Class D felony.
Senate president Robert Stivers and House speaker David W. Osborne filed identical resolutions in both chambers, alleging that this language constitutes a threat for both professional and criminal consequences against any member of the General Assembly who is an attorney and participates in Goodman's impeachment proceedings.[7][8][9] The resolutions were adopted, which censured Thompson and directed for a complaint to be filed against him with the state's judicial conduct commission.[7]
