Lisa Payne Jones

Lisa Payne Jones

Nonpartisan

Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2031

Years in position

1

Predecessor

Donna Dixon

Prior offices

Kentucky 6th District Court

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$163,292

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

April 17, 2024

Education

High school

Owensboro Catholic High School

Bachelor's

Brescia University, 1993

Law

University of Kentucky College of Law, 1996

Personal

Birthplace

Owensboro, Ky.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Judge

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Lisa Payne Jones is a judge for Division 2 of the Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Appellate District. She assumed office on April 29, 2024. Her current term ends on January 6, 2031.

Payne Jones ran in a special election for the Division 2 judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Appellate District. She won in the special general election on November 5, 2024.

Payne Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lisa Payne Jones was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. She graduated from Owensboro Catholic High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from Brescia University in 1993 and a law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1996. Her career experience includes working as a judge and assistant commonwealth's attorney.

Elections

2024

See also: Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

Special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2

Incumbent Lisa Payne Jones defeated Jason Shea Fleming in the special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lisa Payne Jones (Nonpartisan)	63.1	119,548
		Jason Shea Fleming (Nonpartisan)	36.9	69,768

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 189,316
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Lisa Payne Jones and Jason Shea Fleming advanced from the special primary for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Payne Jones in this election.

2014

See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
Jones ran for re-election to the 6th District Court.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.  

2010

See also: Kentucky judicial elections, 2010

Jones ran unopposed and was retained to the 6th District Court on November 2, 2010, in the general election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lisa Payne Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Payne Jones' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Lisa Payne Jones. I was appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals following the retirement of Judge Donna Dixon. Prior to my appointment, I’d served as a trial court judge in Daviess County for over 22 years, including over 15 years covering family court matters in addition to the rest of my docket before Daviess County had a family court. Before I was a judge, I served in the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office where I prosecuted and tried felony cases including murder, robbery, and sexual assault. As a judge, I’ve volunteered my time to preside over both juvenile and adult drug court; I helped establish the Daviess County mental health court and oversight docket; and I helped the state write rules of practice and procedure to guide Kentucky’s judges and lawyers in the family courts, juvenile courts, drug courts, and mental health courts. I currently serve on the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, striving to educate the justice system, and improve accountability and access to services statewide. I believe a judge is a public servant, representing and serving all their constituents and all Kentucky, committed to following the law rather than the platform of any party or politician, and thereby building faith and trust in the justice system and the belief that true justice is justice for all.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Experience. In my 22 years of judicial experience I’ve presided over trials and appeals; family court matters; juveniles and adults; felonies, misdemeanors, and speeding tickets; civil, probate, and small claims; domestic violence; drug court; and mental health court. I know that whether a case seems big or small to outsiders, to that person in front of the bench, how I treat them and explain my decision affects their view of the entire justice system. Experience has taught me that, more than winning or losing, people care about being heard, being treated with respect, understanding the process, and believing they were treated fairly.
• Integrity means honesty, transparency, and upholding the trust of the people and their faith in the justice system. In my experience there have been times that a case doesn’t turn out the way I thought it would or thought it should. Integrity means putting aside those personal feelings and upholding the law. Judicial races are nonpartisan and judges are bound by a code of ethics which forbids them from acting in such a way that brings into question their impartiality and nonpartisan status. This means judges must work to establish the trust of voters by their conduct and their reputation, not with partisan labels. Integrity, like trust, isn’t built overnight. I’m proud to have earned the trust of people from all parties and backgrounds.
• Faithfulness to the Law. The words conservative and liberal are loaded with hidden messages, but they have a very unique meaning for judges. A conservative judge is true to the law and the Constitution. Liberal judges disregard precedent and sound legal principles. Liberal judges can be Republican or Democrat, male or female, black or white, religious, agnostic or atheist…and so can conservative judges. Every judge should strive to be conservative. When judges fail to follow or uphold the law, faith in the justice system, and in the independence and impartiality of judges suffers. A good judge must balance the law, the people, their responsibility, and the justice system with compassion and a clearly written opinion to light the way.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Judges aren’t legislators, but we have a responsibility to educate legislators and the public about the law, the issues confronting the judiciary, and the issues that bring people to the courts. This includes everything from the rise of technology like AI and video dockets, to the rise in substance use and mental health disorders. I’m proud to have worked at both the local and statewide level with other judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, jailers, police, educators, treatment providers, and others to work towards solutions to the drug and mental health issues that plague our communities, as well as working to create better outcomes for Kentucky’s justice-involved youth.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my grandmother, parents, teachers and all those who never laughed at my childhood dream to be president (and have a pet tiger), and who instilled in me a faith rooted in humility and servant leadership.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Every elected official is a public servant, but this is especially true for judges. Judges are elected by the people, not political parties, and their role is to ensure that all people, no matter their party or pronouns or profession of faith, are treated fairly under the law. I began my career as a District Court judge, the lowest level of our court system, but the one with the most daily contact with people. Cutting my teeth on the District Court bench, kept me in touch with the everyday concerns and needs of the people I served, and it kept me accountable. As I rose to the Circuit Court, that belief moved me to preside over drug court and help my community build a mental health court. Now that I’m sitting on the Court of Appeals, even if it’s only been a few months, I’ve made an effort to go into the communities I represent. I believe a good judge knows the people they serve and that I should give them the opportunity to know me as well. It keeps me involved, keeps me accessible, keeps me humble, and keeps me accountable to the people who have given me their vote and their trust.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I was the kid who loved School House Rock. I could sing the Preamble before I could sing the alphabet. I thought the Founders of our nation who wrote such incredible laws as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights must have been lawyers, so I wanted to be a lawyer (and then become president and have a pet tiger). I was raised in a family of farmers and laborers, blue collar workers and deep Catholic roots. I was the first person to go to college, inspired by my childhood dream to be a lawyer, but I never met a lawyer until my junior year of college when I met the lawyers of Connor, Neal and Stevenson. They welcomed a girl with no wealth and no family connections into their practice and taught me about running titles, about writing wills, negotiating settlements and arguing divorce cases. They may not have led lives as glamorous as the Founding Fathers, but they were real life superheroes: helping their clients navigate a wilderness of laws and regulations they didn’t understand. They inspired me to mentor others once I became established in my career. The students I’ve mentored have worked in Washington, D.C., Florida, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, and Kentucky. They are lawyers, teachers, and parents. They have advocated for foster children, represented death row inmates, and fought against human trafficking. They are heroes too. They leave me in awe and they make me strive to keep learning and keep improving. I want my legacy to be those lives I’ve touched and I hope they carry on the tradition by mentoring others. Paying it forward and doing their part to inspire others.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember celebrating the Bicentennial which was shortly before my 5th birthday. There were special coins, parades, picnics. I remember singing every patriotic song I knew outside, at the top of my lungs, and no one complained. I remember holding my ears during the fireworks that night.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Besides babysitting, my first real job was scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. I worked there through high school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. It was a book I discovered when I was Ann’s age, and I was in awe of her talent, her optimism, and her faith in humanity even in the midst of so much darkness.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Empathy makes us human and separates us from machines or AI. There is already technology that can write a sonnet, a novel, or even a legal brief - though AI is prone to fabrication of legal authority. But what AI can never do is the delicate balancing act a judge undertakes. Every case, every fact scenario, every plaintiff and defendant is unique. Applying the law to each case can’t be calibrated or coded: It’s a human process. Even more human is explaining that decision in a way that shows each party that their arguments were considered, their voices and concerns were heard; and maps out the path the judge took through that forest using the law as her compass. Without empathy, that explanation can seem hollow, arbitrary, and unfair.

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Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Lisa Payne Jones campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2	Won general	$2,110	$0
2024*	Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2	Won general	$26,781	$0
Grand total			$28,891	$0
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

Kentucky	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Kentucky Kentucky Court of Appeals Kentucky Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Kentucky	Federal courts State courts Local courts

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Donna Dixon	Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2 2024-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Kentucky 6th District Court -2024	Succeeded by -

Kentucky courts

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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