Republican state Rep. Joe Fischer has served in the legislature for more than two decades, and now multiple sources are telling Kentucky Fried Politics that Fischer will turn his electoral attention towards the state Supreme Court.
The Ft. Thomas attorney has long served on the House Judiciary Committee where legislators craft laws dealing with the judicial system, but he could soon announce his intent to challenge incumbent Kentucky Justice Michelle Keller for her spot on the Supreme Court that is the final arbiter of those laws.
Keller, who is seeking another 8-year term in 2022, was first appointed to the Court in April 2013 by Gov. Steve Beshear, D-Kentucky. She won the election to a full term in November 2014. Prior to her service on the bench, Justice Keller practiced law for 17 years. She served as an assistant county attorney for her home county of Kenton. Her private practice concentrated in the areas of medical negligence and product liability defense, personal injury and family law, and criminal defense, according to her biography.
A phone call to Fischer on his interest in seeking the Supreme Court seat was not immediately returned on Monday. Fischer has served in the House of Representatives since being elected in 1999, and he has rarely faced opposition in his many re-election campaigns.
The 6th Dist. Supreme Court seat represents Kentuckians in Bath, Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Shelby, Spencer, and Trimble.
Republicans have shown frustration with the high court in recent years. Chief Justice John Minton Jr. will not seek another term in 2022, leaving a very different look on the bench.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky is the court of last resort and the final interpreter of state law. It consists of seven justices who are elected from the seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. The Chief Justice of the Commonwealth is chosen by his or her colleagues and serves a term of four years. Together as a panel the justices hear appeals of decisions from the lower courts and issue decisions on cases.
