Deputy Chief Justice Meets with Students

Kentucky Deputy Chief Justice Mary C. Noble continued the Judicial Conversation series this week, holding an open forum on Wednesday, April 3. About 30 students gathered to hear her as she gave an overview of the history and processes of the Kentucky court system, followed by a question and answer session moderated by District Court Judge Jennifer Coffman (1978).

Justice Noble began her session with a recap of the structure of court system and the function of the commonwealth’s Administrative Office of the Courts, a “national model for unified state court systems.” She spoke on the life and preparation of a Supreme Court Justice, and how the heavy research and writing workload differed from the daily contact with “hundreds of attorneys” she experienced as a circuit court judge.

Justice Noble, a 1981 graduate of the College of Law, was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2006. She was named deputy chief justice by Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr. in 2010, and in 2011 became the first woman to preside during oral arguments in the Supreme Court of Kentucky.

The Judicial Conversation Series, this spring featuring justices from Kentucky’s highest court, was designed to foster engaging interactions between law students and judges. Previous speakers have included Justices Cunningham, Venters, and Abramson.