Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton, Jr. has announced he will retire after serving 30 years on the bench.
The justice told WKU Public Radio Wednesday that he will not seek re-election next year and plans to retire.
Minton’s term doesn’t expire until January 2023, but he told the station he wanted to announce his intentions early. He represents 14 counties in Kentucky’s 2nd Supreme Court District that includes Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Owensboro, and Henderson.
Minton has spent a combined 30 years on the bench, first as a circuit court and appeals court judge. He was elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2006 and became chief justice in 2008.
Minton is a Trigg County native, where his father Dr. John Minton served as principal of Trigg County High School from 1953-58 before joining the faculty at Western Kentucky University where he later became WKU president.
Chief Justice Minton makes regular visits to Trigg County where his portrait hangs in the justice center.