Published: August 08, 2008 07:37 pm      

Beshear appoints Daniel Venters to Supreme Court

Vacany created by retirement of Joseph Lambert; special election this November

FRANKFORT — Somerset attorney and former Circuit Judge Daniel J. Venters was appointed Friday by Gov. Steve Beshear to the Kentucky Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of former Chief Justice Joseph Lambert.

Venters’ appointment is for the remainder of the year. A special election on Nov. 4 will determine who holds the seat for the last two years of Lambert’s term which ends in 2010. Venters and Leonard Brashears of Hyden have filed as candidates in the special election.

“I’m very excited,” Venters said Friday afternoon after meeting with Beshear. “I’m expected to be in Frankfort Monday at 9 o’clock to meet with the court.”

Venters served nearly 25 years on the bench in the 28th Judicial Circuit, five as District Judge and more than 19 as Circuit Judge. For the past nine years, he has practiced civil law, concentrating on contract, real estate and insurance law.

Beshear named Venters from three nominees submitted by the judicial nominating committee. The others were Robert W. Dyche III of London and Eddie Lovelace of Albany. The Third Supreme Court District includes Adair, Bell, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Estill, Garrard, Green, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Lincoln, Marion, McCreary, Metcalfe, Monroe, Nelson, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Taylor, Washington, Wayne and Whitley counties.

Venters will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Minton and begin meeting with the other justices in conference on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he will hear his first oral arguments as Justice. He said a formal, public investiture service will be held in early September.

Venters received a call Thursday afternoon from a member of Beshear’s staff, asking if he could meet with the governor Friday.

“I was told the governor expected to have good news for me, so I was kind of excited,” Venters said. “I am proud to accept the appointment. I look forward with great enthusiasm to serving the commonwealth of Kentucky as a Justice of the Supreme Court.”

He said his judicial philosophy is “to apply the law as it’s written in the constitution and statutes and to interpret the law only when the written law is ambiguous.”

Venters, a registered Republican, is a graduate of Ohio State University and a 1975 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law. He is married to Jane Adams Venters, an attorney. He has three children and two step-children.

He serves on the Kentucky Board of Bar Examiners and the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association.

Before serving as district and circuit judge, Venters was an assistant commonwealth attorney. He has practiced law in both federal and state courts.

“My background and experience will enable me to effectively serve as Supreme Court Justice,” Venters said.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.