Christopher S. Nickell

Christopher Shea Nickell (born c. 1958/1959) is an American lawyer from Kentucky who is an Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Nickell earned a Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1984.

Prior to being appointed as a judge, he practiced law for 22 years.

In 2006, Nickell was elected to be a Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

On February 6, 2019, Nickell announced he was running for the seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court vacated by the retirement of Bill Cunningham. He was elected on November 5, 2019, defeating state senator Whitney Westerfield. He was sworn into office on December 11, 2019.

He served as an instructor at Murray State University teaching Insurance and Risk Management and he also taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teaching jurisprudence.

He has been a member of thePaducah Lions Club since 1989. He is also an Eagle Scout, he has been recognized as a Kentucky Colonel, Honorary Captain of the Belle of Louisville and a Sagamore of the Wabash. He is a Life Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited. He is also a 32 Degree Mason, a Silver Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation, a Gideon, and a deacon at Paducah's Heartland Church.

Nickell and his wife, Carolyn S. Watson are both a Melvin Jones Fellow.