President Barack Obama has nominated Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. to serve on the board of directors of the State Justice Institute.
SJI is a federal non-profit corporation that awards grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common issues faced by all courts. Some areas SJI is focusing on with grants this year are language access in state courts, technology, self-represented litigants and juvenile justice. SJI is governed by an 11-member board of directors appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“I am honored to be appointed to the SJI board and, if confirmed by the Senate, look forward to working with my future SJI board colleagues to award grants that will have impact at the national, state and local levels,” Chief Justice Minton said.
The SJI board is comprised of six state court judges, one state court administrator and four members of the public (must be two from each major political party).
John D. Minton, Jr. is Chief Justice of Kentucky, a position he has held since 2008. He has served on the Kentucky Supreme Court since 2006. Previously, Minton served as a Judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2006.
From 1992 to 2003, he was a Circuit Judge in Kentucky’s Eighth Judicial Circuit. From 1996 to 2003, he also served as Chief Administrative Judge for the 21-county Green River Region. He is currently a Member and President-Elect of the Conference of Chief Justices.
He is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. Minton received a B.A. from Western Kentucky University and a J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
“I am honored to be appointed to the SJI board and, if confirmed by the Senate,” The operative phrase here is “if confirmed by the Senate”. That means that Senator McConnell as Majority Leader of the Senate has the duty to bring the appointment to the floor. He has already indicated that no Obama appointments will be confirmed and we will wait for President Trump will make new ones. Senator, do your job! You have coveted the Majority Leader job for years but you have chosen to place party over country.