Kelly Thompson (judge)

Kelly David Thompson Jr. (born 1947 or 1948)^[2] is an American lawyer 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.

Kelly Thompson
Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2023
Preceded by	John D. Minton Jr.
Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
In office January 1, 2007 – January 2, 2023
Preceded by	John D. Minton Jr.
Succeeded by	Kelly Mark Easton
Personal details
Born	1947 or 1948 (age 76–77)
Political party	Republican[1]
Education	Western Kentucky University (BA) University of Kentucky (JD)

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] 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]

Electoral history

1983

1983 Kentucky Court of Appeals 2nd district, 1st division election^[7]

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^[8]

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)^[9]

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)^[10]

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^[11]

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^[12]

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^[13]

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^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Kelly Thompson	81,761	62.5
	Nonpartisan	Shawn Marie Alcott	49,119	37.5
Total votes			130,880	100.0