Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect Debra Hembree Lambert has appointed Justice Robert B. Conley to serve as deputy chief justice starting in January.?

Lambert is the current deputy chief justice, but was elected by her fellow justices to succeed outgoing Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter last month. Lambert and Conley will assume their new roles on Jan. 6, 2025.

“Justice Conley is a man of exceptional character and good judgment,” Lambert said in a statement. “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.”

The deputy chief justice fills in when the chief justice is recused from a case or administrative matter,?

Conley was elected to the Supreme Court in November 2020. He represents the 7th Supreme Court District, which covers 32 counties in Eastern Kentucky.?

In 1994, then-Gov. Brereton Jones appointed Conley to fill a district judge vacancy in the 20th Judicial District of Greenup and Lewis counties; he was elected again to that seat for three terms. Conley was elected to the circuit bench in the two counties in 2006 and served there until joining the Supreme Court.??