View source for Kelly Thompson (judge)

{{Short description|American judge (born 1947 or 1948)}}
{{Infobox judge
|name                      = Kelly Thompson
|office                    = Justice of the [[Kentucky Supreme Court]]
|term_start                = January 2, 2023
|term_end                  = 
|predecessor               = [[John D. Minton Jr.]]
|successor                 = 
|birth_date                = {{birth based on age as of date|74|2022|11|8}}
|birth_place               = 
|death_date                = 
|death_place               = 
|party                     = [[Republican Party (US)|Republican]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Elect Judge Kelly Thompson for Kentucky Supreme Court |url=https://www.facebook.com/electjudgekellythompson/posts/pfbid02yUXjJ6JLpaUypnkvioyoCH7YUuEgU4k6mQdoHodYYx1NdU15x8hHPDZMCyrsT3Dzl |website=[[Facebook]] |date=October 27, 2022}}</ref>
|education                 = [[Western Kentucky University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Kentucky]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}
'''Kelly Thompson Jr.''' (born 1947 or 1948)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yetter |first=Deborah |date=November 8, 2022 |title=Election results: Bisig wins Supreme Court seat, Keller defeats Fischer in high court race |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/08/kentucky-midterm-election-2022-kentucky-supreme-court-race-results/69527147007/ |access-date=November 15, 2022 |website=The Courier-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> is an American lawyer 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.

== Education ==

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.<ref name="COABio">{{Cite web |title=Kelly Thompson - Kentucky Court of Justice |url=https://kycourts.gov/Courts/Court-of-Appeals/Pages/Judge-Thompson.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109185511/https://kycourts.gov/Courts/Court-of-Appeals/Pages/Judge-Thompson.aspx |archive-date=November 9, 2022 |access-date=November 15, 2022 |website=kycourts.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kelly David Thompson Judge Profile on Martindale.com |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/kelly-david-thompson-jr-572978/ |access-date=November 15, 2022 |website=www.martindale.com}}</ref>

== 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, Kentucky|Bowling Green]] area.<ref name="COABio" /> He was elected to the [[Kentucky Court of Appeals]] in 2006.<ref name="WKYUFM">{{Cite web |last=Autry |first=Lisa |date=November 9, 2022 |title=Appeals Court Judge from Bowling Green elected to Kentucky Supreme Court |url=https://www.wkyufm.org/2022-11-09/appeals-court-judge-from-bowling-green-elected-to-kentucky-supreme-court |access-date=November 15, 2022 |website=WKU Public Radio |language=en}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=Jason |date=November 8, 2022 |title=Kentucky Supreme Court will get a few new faces, including change in chief justice |url=https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/kentucky-supreme-court-will-get-a-few-new-faces-including-change-in-chief-justice/article_362cb930-5fb5-11ed-a17c-5f9fa47c5d26.html |access-date=November 15, 2022 |website=WDRB |language=en}}</ref> He replaced retiring Chief Justice [[John D. Minton Jr.]]<ref name="WKYUFM" />

== Electoral history ==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
|+ JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT 2nd Supreme Court District<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2022 |title=Election Night Reporting |url=https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/liveresults/Public/Judicial |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110044514/https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/liveresults/Public/Judicial |archive-date=November 10, 2022 |access-date=November 16, 2022 |website=vrsws.sos.ky.gov}}</ref>
!|Nonpartisan
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|{{Party shading/No party}} |'''Kelly Thompson Jr'''
|{{Party shading/No party}} align="right" |81,761
|{{Party shading/No party}} |62%
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Ballotpedia|Kelly_Thompson_(Kentucky)|Kelly Thompson}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John D. Minton Jr.]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Justice of the [[Kentucky Supreme Court]]}}|years=2023–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}

{{Kentucky statewide political officials}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Kelly}}
[[Category:1940s births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American judges]]
[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals]]
[[Category:Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court]]
[[Category:Kentucky lawyers]]
[[Category:University of Kentucky College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Western Kentucky University alumni]]

{{Kentucky-state-judge-stub}}