U.S. District Court Judge McKinley to serve as graduation speaker

We are honored to announce that U.S. District Court Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr. has agreed to be our graduation speaker.

McKinley received his law degree in 1979 from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

Thereafter, he returned to his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, where he practiced law for a number of years in his father’s law firm.

In 1991, he was elected to the Circuit Court bench in Daviess County and served in that capacity until 1995 when he was appointed to the federal bench by then President William Jefferson Clinton.

Judge McKinley has served as Chief Judge of the Western District of Kentucky since 2011. In his capacity as Chief Judge, he sits on the Judicial Council for the Sixth Circuit , which is the court’s governing body. He also served as a member of the United States Judicial Conference’s Financial Disclosure Committee for nine years, the last three years as its Chair.

He is a past president of the Sixth Circuit’s District Judges Association. He currently is a member of the Joint Local Rules Commission for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.

Judge McKinley, while on the state court bench, was the recipient of the Chief Justice Warren E. Burger “Healer” Award presented by the National Children’s Rights Council, for his work in domestic relations and child custody issues. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Brandeis School of Law and in 2007, he was recognized as the Outstanding Trial Judge by the Kentucky Justice Association.

Judge McKinley has been an active participant in civic affairs in his community serving as President of the Hospice Association, Inc.; President of the Voluntary Action Center Board; Board Member of the United Way of Daviess County; Board Member of the Senior Citizens Center Board; Member of Human Development Council; Member of Newton Parrish Family Resource Center Advisory Board; Deacon and Elder of First Christian Church.

Judge McKinley has been married to his wife, Teresa, for 35 years. They have three children and five grandchildren.

The Brandeis School of Law graduation ceremony will be May 14 at the Brown Theatre in Downtown Louisville.