PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Janet Stumbo has announced she will resign her seat at the end of the year.
In a statement released last night, Stumbo said there were “many factors” in her decision to resign, including a desire to help victims who have lost disability benefits due to the actions of fugitive former disability attorney Eric C. Conn.
Stumbo was first elected to the court in 1989, becoming only the second woman on that court. In 1993, she became the first woman elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court and the second woman to serve on that court, after defeating Sara Walter Combs, who had been appointed.
In 2004, she narrowly lost a re-election bid to former Justice Will T. Scott. She returned to the Court of Appeals and has remained there since, losing a Supreme Court rematch against Scott in 2012.
Stumbo’s resignation comes three years into her current eight-year term. As a result, a Judicial Nominating Commission will solicit nominations for the position, then submit three names to the governor to appoint a replacement.
If the governor does not appoint a replacement within 60 days of receiving the list, the decision then falls to Supreme Court Chief John Minton.