John D. Minton Jr. (ret.) served as Chief Justice of Kentucky from 2008-2023. He is credited with steering the Commonwealth’s unified court system through the challenges presented by the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic. During his tenure, he prioritized investment in the elected and non-elected people who operate the courts by updating personnel policies and overhauling the Judicial Branch’s lagging salary structure. He oversaw investment in court technology to improve efficiencies in court operations and enhance statewide access to the justice system. His sweeping technology initiative brought e-filing at the trial-court and appellate-court level to every Kentucky county. During his tenure, the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted the Commonwealth’s first uniform Family Court Rules and Juvenile Court Rules. He collaborated with the Executive and Legislative branches to carry out penal code and juvenile-justice reform. He formed Kentucky’s Access to Justice Commission and, most recently, the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health. In 2016-17, he was president of the Conference of Chief Justices and chair of the National Center for State Courts Board of Directors. He was appointed to the SJI Board of Directors in 2016 and currently serves as Chair. Before joining the Kentucky Supreme Court as a justice in 2006, he engaged in the private practice of law and served 13 years as a general-jurisdiction trial-court judge and 3 years as a judge on the intermediate appellate court. He holds degrees from Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky College of Law.