By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect Debra Hembree Lambert announced she has appointed Justice Robert B. Conley as deputy chief justice to fill in for her when she recuses from a case or an administrative matter before the high court.
“Justice Conley is a man of exceptional character and good judgment,” Justice Lambert said. “I know he will ably serve in this new role with integrity and will do all he can to advance the work of the Court of Justice.”
Lambert is succeeding the current Chief Justice, Laurance B. VanMeter, who is retiring when his term expires at the end of the year. She is currently serving as Deputy Chief Justice.
Justice Conley was elected from the 7th Supreme Court District, which consists of 32 counties in Eastern Kentucky, and has served on the court since January 2021. He joined the state’s highest court after 26 years as a trial court judge for Greenup and Lewis counties.
In 1994, Conley was appointed by then-Gov. Brereton Jones to fill a district judge vacancy in the 20th Judicial District of Greenup and Lewis counties and was then elected to that seat for three successive terms. In 2006, he was elected to the circuit bench for the two counties, where he served until his election to the Supreme Court.
While a circuit judge, he also presided over Greenup/Lewis Drug Court, which was recognized by the National Drug Court Institute in 2010 as a mentor court to help train Drug Court personnel from all over the Eastern United States.
Prior to taking the bench, he worked in Ashland as an associate in the law firm of McKenzie, Woolery & Emrick, a corporate attorney with Addington Mining/Addington Environmental and as attorney for the Greenup County School Board.