Dominic Massa / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS – State Supreme Court Chief Justice Catherine “Kitty” Kimball, the first woman to serve on the state’s highest court, announced Wednesday that she will retire in January 2013.
Kimball, 67, suffered complications from a stroke in 2010 but returned to the bench after one month of rehabilitation.
An Alexandria native, she was first first elected to the Supreme Court in 1992 and was sworn in as Chief Justice in 2009.
She was first elected in 1992 from the Fifth Supreme Court District. She served as a district judge for ten years before that.
“After serving the state of Louisiana for so many years, it is time for me to spend some quality time with my family,” she said in a statement.
An election will be called to choose her replacement, once her retirement becomes effective next year.
Her term runs until 2018.
