First Annual KYLP Champion Awards Reception

Judge Lucinda Masterton completed her undergraduate work at Northwestern University in 1972, and graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 1981. She moved to Lexington in 1983, and engaged in a general practice of law, focusing on family mediation and bankruptcy. She was a Bankruptcy Trustee for the Eastern District of Kentucky and administered almost 10,000 bankruptcy cases before leaving that office.

She was elected as the Family Court Judge for the Fifth Division in Fayette County, and took the bench in January 2007; she was re-elected in 2014. In addition to her duties as a Family Court Judge, Judge Masterton was the judge for Family Drug Court and Juvenile Drug Court, and was the lead judge for the Fayette County Model Court project; and she was the local judge for the START program, which focuses resources on families in the Dependency, Neglect, and Abuse Court.

She has served on numerous boards and committees. She was the Chair of the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines Commission for over ten years; she served on the National Judicial Advisory Committee for the National CASA program; and she was a lead judge for the RESTORE initiative to address substance abuse in the Kentucky Court system.

Judge Masterton has received several statewide awards for her service as a judge, including a 2008 Kentucky Court of Justice Award for outstanding service in the field of substance abuse community advocacy; the 2013 Outstanding Judge Award presented by the Kentucky Citizens Foster Care Review Board; the Kentucky CASA Judge of the Year for 2021; and the 2014 and the 2022 Judge of the Year by the Kentucky Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She is very active with the Central Kentucky Chapter of the American Inns of Court, serving as President for the 2018-19 Inn Year; and is chair of the Program Review Committee for the American Inns of Court.

Judge Masterton retired from the bench in January 2023.

She was an early supporter of the Kentucky Youth Law Project's mission to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI+) children and youth and to provide free legal services and advocacy for these youth. She understands that these youth need specific advocacy to address issues related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. In no venue was that more crucial than in her Dependency, Neglect, and Abuse Court, where she appointed KYLP as a special guardian ad litem to address the needs of these children and youth.

The Kentucky Youth Law Project Board of Directors is proud to recognize the work Judge Masterton has done to protect LGBTQI+ children and youth and for making the Courts a safer place -- a place where their voices are heard and respected -- for every child and youth. Therefore, we want to honor her by presenting her with our first annual Champion of the Year award for outstanding service to Kentucky's LGBTQI+ children and youth.