About me
Melanie Lowe was raised in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of steelworkers. She became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and English from Marshall University. She went on to receive her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2000. Melanie began her legal career as a public defender in the Elizabethtown Trial Office.
Over the next 18 years, she proudly served clients across Kentucky through roles with the Elizabethtown and LaGrange Trial Offices, the Shelbyville Trial Office, Adult Post-Conviction, and the Kentucky Innocence Project. A dedicated advocate and skilled litigator, Melanie argued and won the first DNA exoneration case before the Kentucky Supreme Court in Bedingfield v. Commonwealth. In recognition of her commitment to public defense, she received the Gideon Award in 2016. Beyond the courtroom, Melanie has trained attorneys, law enforcement, and students through programs with the Department of Public Advocacy, the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, the Kentucky State Police, Kentucky State Police Laboratory, as well as multiple Kentucky law schools and universities.
In July 2018, she became DPA’s General Counsel. In September 2024, she was named Deputy Public Advocate where she continues her leadership advancing justice in the Commonwealth.
