Kelly Thompson (judge)

Kelly Thompson
Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2023
Preceded byJohn D. Minton Jr.
Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
In office
January 1, 2007 – January 2, 2023
Preceded byJohn D. Minton Jr.
Succeeded byKelly Mark Easton
Personal details
Born1947 or 1948 (age 77–78)
PartyRepublican[1]
EducationWestern 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.

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.[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 chambers 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]

Electoral history

1983

1983 Kentucky Court of Appeals 2nd district, 1st division election[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan John D. Miller 30,823 59.7
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 20,791 40.3
Total votes 51,614 100.0

1995

1995 Bowling Green City Commission special election[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Dianne B. Howerton 4,533 48.1
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 4,375 46.4
Nonpartisan Joe Stark Gerard 522 5.5
Total votes 9,430 100.0

1996

Primary election results (vote for 4)[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Joe W. Denning 2,308 N/A
Nonpartisan Jim Breece 2,263 N/A
Nonpartisan Dianne B. Howerton 2,212 N/A
Nonpartisan Johnny Oldham 2,176 N/A
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 2,052 N/A
Nonpartisan Larry J. Pack 1,855 N/A
Nonpartisan Robbie Bond 1,587 N/A
Nonpartisan Jim McDaniels 1,345 N/A
Nonpartisan Bob Welch 1,236 N/A
Nonpartisan Benjamin Craig Long 722 N/A
1996 Bowling Green City Commission election (vote for 4)[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Dianne B. Howerton 7,269 N/A
Nonpartisan Jim Breece 6,432 N/A
Nonpartisan Johnny Oldham 6,154 N/A
Nonpartisan Joe W. Denning 6,136 N/A
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 5,367 N/A
Nonpartisan Larry J. Pack 5,331 N/A
Nonpartisan Robbie Bond 4,108 N/A

2003

2003 Kentucky Court of Appeals 2nd district, 2nd division special election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan John D. Minton Jr. 54,222 55.2
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 43,954 44.8
Total votes 98,176 100.0

2006

2006 Kentucky Court of Appeals 2nd district, 2nd division election[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 68,636 58.3
Nonpartisan Dwight T. Lovan 49,023 41.7
Total votes 117,659 100.0

2014

2014 Kentucky Court of Appeals 2nd district, 2nd division election[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 96,420 70.0
Nonpartisan Mark H. Flener 41,343 30.0
Total votes 137,763 100.0

2022

2022 Kentucky Supreme Court 2nd district election[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kelly Thompson 81,761 62.5
Nonpartisan Shawn Marie Alcott 49,119 37.5
Total votes 130,880 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "Elect Judge Kelly Thompson for Kentucky Supreme Court". Facebook. October 27, 2022.
  2. ↑ Yetter, Deborah (November 8, 2022). "Election results: Bisig wins Supreme Court seat, Keller defeats Fischer in high court race". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Kelly Thompson - Kentucky Court of Justice". kycourts.gov. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Kelly David Thompson Judge Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Autry, Lisa (November 9, 2022). "Appeals Court Judge from Bowling Green elected to Kentucky Supreme Court". WKU Public Radio. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Riley, Jason (November 8, 2022). "Kentucky Supreme Court will get a few new faces, including change in chief justice". WDRB. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Horsley, McKenna (April 15, 2026). "KY legislature censures Supreme Court justice for opinion in judge's impeachment appeal". Kentucky Lantern. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  8. ↑ "26RS HR 141". apps.legislature.ky.gov. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  9. ↑ "26RS SR 305". apps.legislature.ky.gov. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ "General election - Court of appeals, first district, first division" (PDF). November 8, 1983. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2012.
  11. ↑ "City, County Races". The Lexington Herald-Leader. November 8, 1995. p. A8.
  12. ↑ "Results of local elections". The Lexington Herald-Leader. May 29, 1996. p. A6.
  13. ↑ "1996 General Election: City & County Races". The Lexington Herald-Leader. November 6, 1996. p. A11.
  14. ↑ "Kentucky state board of elections - Report of "official" election night tally results". Archived from the original on September 27, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Kentucky state board of elections - Report of "official" election night tally results". Archived from the original on September 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Official 2014 General Election Results" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Official 2022 General Election Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2023.
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