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Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert (right) presents the 2025 Liberty Bell Award to State Auditor Allison Ball, who was the keynote speaker for the Supreme Court of Kentucky’s Law Day celebration. The event took place today at the Capitol in Frankfort. The award recognizes outstanding community service, among other things.

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FRANKFORT, Ky., May 1, 2025 – In a packed Capitol Rotunda, State Auditor Allison Ball was honored today with the Liberty Bell Award at the Supreme Court of Kentucky’s 35th annual Law Day celebration. Chief Justice of the Commonwealth Debra Hembree Lambert presented the award after the auditor of public accounts delivered her keynote speech for the event at the state Capitol.

The Liberty Bell Award was established more than 40 years ago to recognize individuals for performing outstanding community service, promoting better understanding of the rule of law, encouraging greater respect for the law and the courts, stimulating a sense of civic responsibility and contributing to good government in the community.

Ball, an attorney from Floyd County, is the 48th state auditor and served two terms as Kentucky state treasurer. She previously spent four years as an assistant county attorney in her hometown of Floyd County, prosecuting child abuse and juvenile delinquency cases.   

She spoke to the 50 law students who were being sworn in as attorneys after having passed the Kentucky Bar Exam.

“You are embarking in an honorable profession,” she said. “You have the privilege – and it really is a privilege – to be officers of the court. You are bastions of the constitution. You are going to preserve justice. You are going to fight for what’s right. You are going to make a difference in people’s lives, and it really starts today.”

Ball, who said she loved the law, reflected on why she decided to become an attorney, saying that she was interested in policy and wanted to help people. She realized that many policymakers in Frankfort were attorneys, she said.

“I thought, ‘This means something,’ “ she said. “And I began to think about the constitution and the importance of if you want to serve in government, you need to know what really works. What does the constitution really mean? What do laws really mean? How do we preserve justice? How do we preserve the law? And you know what, I thought ‘I want to go into the law.’ ”

She shared a story of how a friend was arrested due to a misunderstanding, saying she thought at that time, “I want to be someone who gets the phone call and helps people in those kinds of moments.”

Ball clerked for a Fayette County Family Court judge, helping children in foster care and families, and then decided to practice law in her home county.

“I got to do something that is one of my greatest experiences,” she said. “It’s something I hope some of you get the opportunity to do, and that’s to be a small-town lawyer. You have never known the importance of community until you have been a small-town lawyer.”

She encouraged the budding attorneys to have unwavering integrity and not lose the joy and zest for the practice of law.

Chief Justice Lambert administered the constitutional oath to the incoming attorneys after opening the Law Day event in which she discussed the history of the day.

Law Day provides an opportunity to expand the awareness of our legal and judicial systems and their impact on our lives, she said.

“It offers us a chance to reflect upon our nation’s constitutional heritage and to appreciate the vital contribution an informed and active citizenry makes to our constitutional government,” she said.

The American Bar Association’s 2025 Law Day theme, “The Constitution’s Promises: Out of Many, One,” calls on Americans to celebrate the U.S. Constitution as a powerful force that unites us. It provides the foundation for a shared civic identity through core democratic practices like representative government, jury duty and the census.

Law Day is set aside to celebrate the rule of law in a free society. Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, Law Day is a day for Americans to celebrate their liberties and rededicate themselves to the ideals of equality and justice under the law in relation to each other and other nations. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed every May 1 as Law Day, U.S.A.

When created, “Law Day in America stood as a sharp contrast to the May Day celebration of military might displayed in the Soviet Union,” Chief Justice Lambert said. “Now, nearly 75 years later, the United States of America and our legal system is strong and vibrant, although some might point to a little fraying along the edges.”

This year’s theme “urges us to take pride in a constitution that bridges our differences to bring us together as a united nation,” she said.

The chief justice talked about the creation of the U.S. seal shortly after the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The seal features the phrase “e pluribus unum,” meaning out of many, one. 

“E pluribus unum reflects a core principle of our nation and our system of government, that despite all of our differences, we can come together and work toward the greater good,” she said. “Our constitution embodies that idea by establishing a representative democracy that depends on our collective participation. It calls on each of us to fulfill our civic responsibility, not for personal gain, but for the benefit of society as a whole. That spirit of shared duty was the promise of our constitution, and it has stood the test of time.”

She said to the incoming attorneys, “Unity, not uniformity, is what allows us to pursue justice and progress. As new lawyers, I encourage each of you to embrace this principle and carry it forward in your careers.”

Watch a recording of the Law Day event on the Kentucky Court of Justice YouTube channel at kcoj.info/KCOJYouTube. Search the hashtags #LawDay2025 #StateCourts and #KyLaw on social media to learn more about Law Day.

Supreme Court of Kentucky
The Supreme Court of Kentucky is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the court and all rule on appeals before the court. The justices are elected from seven Supreme Court districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by his or her fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state court system and is responsible for overseeing its operation. In addition, the Supreme Court establishes rules of practice and procedure for all Kentucky judges and attorneys.

Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm of the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 412 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.

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