Judges appointed by Steve Beshear
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This page lists judges appointed by Steve Beshear (D) during their term as Governor of Kentucky. As of today, the total number of Beshear appointees was 39. For the full profile of Beshear, click here.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Kentucky judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Beshear.
Appointment process
In Kentucky, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. The judge then must run for the seat in the next general election more than three months after the appointment.[1]
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
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Kentucky Supreme Court 3rd District |
2008 - January 6, 2019 |
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Kentucky Supreme Court 6th District |
April 3, 2013 - Present |
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Kentucky Supreme Court 7th District |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
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Kentucky Court of Appeals 4th Division 1 |
April 27, 2012 - January 1, 2023 |
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Kentucky Court of Appeals 6th Division 1 |
2013 - Present |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
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Kentucky 11th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 17th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 18th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 18th District Court |
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Kentucky 19th District Court |
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Kentucky 21st Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 21st District Court |
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Kentucky 22nd Circuit Court 7th Division |
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Kentucky 22nd Circuit Court Family Court 6th Division |
October 21, 2013 - February 2, 2022 |
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Kentucky 22nd District Court |
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Kentucky 25th District Court |
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Kentucky 26th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 27th District Court |
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Kentucky 28th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 30th Circuit Court 11th Division |
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Kentucky 30th Circuit Court 6th Division |
2009 - January 2, 2023 |
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Kentucky 30th District Court |
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Kentucky 30th District Court 17th Division |
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Kentucky 31st Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 31st Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 31st District Court |
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Kentucky 32nd Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 32nd District Court |
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Kentucky 34th Circuit Court 2nd Division |
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Kentucky 37th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 40th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 41st District Court |
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Kentucky 43rd Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 47th District Court |
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Kentucky 48th Circuit Court |
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Kentucky 60th District Court |
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Kentucky 6th District Court |
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Kentucky 8th Circuit Court |
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McCracken County Family Court |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Kentucky
| Judicial selection in Kentucky | |
 | |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Kentucky Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Kentucky Circuit Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Kentucky District Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 4 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Kentucky, including:
- Kentucky Supreme Court,
- Kentucky Court of Appeals,
- Kentucky Circuit Courts, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of March 2023, the selection of state court judges in Kentucky occurred through nonpartisan elections.[2] Under the state constitution, elected judges' terms begin on the first Monday in January following their election.
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[3] |
|---|
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| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[4] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[5] | 1[6] | 17[7] |
State profile
| Demographic data for Kentucky | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,424,611 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 39,486 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 87.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 7.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.3% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 22.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $43,740 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 22.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kentucky. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Kentucky
Kentucky voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Kentucky, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Kentucky had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Kentucky coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Kentucky
- United States congressional delegations from Kentucky
- Public policy in Kentucky
- Endorsers in Kentucky
- Kentucky fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Kentucky," October 2, 2014
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Kentucky," accessed March 7, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
