Chanley Painter (full name Chanley Shá Painter) is an American court TV reporter and attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia. Painter joined Court TV as a Legal Correspondent in 2019, and since then has covered live court trials of several high-profile court cases including the Derek Chauvin trial, the Robert Durst trial as well as the 2022 Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard trial.
Painter is also a former Miss Arkansas USA (2009), a black belt in martial arts, and an attorney licensed to work in two US states, Arkansas and Tennessee. Before starting to work full-time as a legal correspondent on TV, Painter was a deputy persecutor in Arkansas and also ran a private practice as an attorney.
Painter was also the president of the Cleburne County Bar Association, the 2004 Arkansas State Old-Time Fiddle Champion, and a graduate of the Conway Citizen’s Police Academy. In 2009, Painter took part in the Miss USA competition as the Miss Arkansas of the time and was one of the top 10 contestants.
Early life & education
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| Born | Chanley Shá Painter 1985 Arkansas, United States |
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| Sibling(s) | Chelsa Painter |
| Residence(s) | Atlanta, Georgia (as of 2022) |
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| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
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| Religion | Christian |
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(Chanley Painter being welcomed to Court TV in 2019.) | |
Chanley Painter: as an attorney and a researcher
In 2006, Painter worked at the Clinton Foundation for six months as an intern. She was based at the foundation’s Special Events Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was involved in fundraising and other activities. While interning there, she also met and interviewed former US President Bill Clinton, the US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
For more than eight years (1999- 2007), Painter was a member, spokesperson, and office assistant of an Arkansas-based non-profit Choosing to Excel. At Choosing to Excel, Painter carried out a wide range of activities, including designing a regional conference, organising annual fundraising programs, and working as an entertainer, club facilitator, and mentor.
In 2008, Painter was hired by the international non-profit Heifer International as a consultant and researcher. She spent 9 months at Heifer and was involved in a needs assessment project for the organisation’s Murphy Keller Education Centre in Arkansas.
After a short stint at Heifer, Painter spent four months working for Bridge2Rwanda, a Rwanda-based talent placement agency. At Bridge2Rwanda, she was a consultant and a researcher and helped create the Isomo College Prep Center and the 2011 B2R Scholars Program.
While pursuing a Doctor of Law degree at the William H. Bowen School of Law, Painter was Symposium Editor of the school’s Law Review publication for nearly two years. Her role was instrumental in organising an academic conference called Reframing Public Service Law: Innovative Approaches to Integrating Public Service into the Legal Profession. In addition, she was also responsible for reviewing and appointing Symposium staff and had other editorial duties such as cite-checking. Furthermore, she wrote a paper on self-defence law.
In January 2016, Painter joined the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, a non-profit organization in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a clerk, consultant and researcher. She spent six months at the Commission researching and writing a report on self-representation in civil court cases and the impact it could have on case outcomes. The report, which was cited by various national publications, also looked at how self-representation in courts could affect the efficiency of judicial operations.
Painter has practised law as an attorney through private practice as well. She registered Chanley Painter Law in November 2011 and has said that she might practice law someday in the future again. In February 2019, talking to Tracy Courage, Painter said:
Because I have my law degree, I can always come back to Arkansas and join a firm or have a private practice. It’s a skill I can make a living with no matter what the economy is like; people will always need lawyers.
Career as a TV reporter
In 2016 she joined the Nexstar Media Group, America’s largest local television and media company with over 200 broadcast stations. At the Nexstar Media Group, she worked as a multimedia (MMJ) reporter and legal analyst for a little more than three years. Painter has previously said that she was approached by the news director at KARK 4 and FOX 16 to work as a legal correspondent and analyst, an offer which she had happily accepted. Painter’s first assignment was a week-long trial related to the murder of realtor Beverly Carter.
In a 2019 piece, Austin Kellerman, the News Director for KARK and KLRT-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, described the moment he had read Painter’s CV:
When her resume came across my desk a few years ago, my initial reaction was “why in the world does this person want to be a TV reporter?” The truth, I’d later find out, was passion. Chanley has done a lot of things — and done them well. However, she wanted to find something that inspired her. She felt connecting with people through reporting would fuel her passion. She was right.
Though Painter had no formal training in television reporting or media per se, she had some on-camera experience through acting and modelling, and that helped her work as a multimedia journalist. In January 2019, Painter left the Nexstar Media Group and moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work as a Legal Correspondent at Court TV.
Modelling and participation in beauty competitions
Painter has competed in several beauty pageant competitions. In June 2001, Painter grabbed Miss Teen Conway and then Miss Teen Arkansas titles. In 2007 and 2008, she took part in the Miss Arkansas competitions and finished as a runner-up. In 2009, she again competed for Miss Arkansas USA and won the competition. In the same year, she was placed in the top ten of the Miss USA competition.
Painter has also worked as a model. She worked with Integrity Models for a long time and was featured in publications such as Seventeen and Cosmo Girl Prom. She had done modelling for various places and products.
After winning the crown of Miss Arkansas USA in 2009, Painter did several wedding photoshoots for several wedding gown retailers, such as Jessica’s Bridal and Formal, She Said Yes Bridal and Tulle Bridal. Nearly a decade later, in 2018, she again appeared in wedding-themed photoshoots with model Tyler Wilson.
During the Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard trial in 2022, Painter trended on social media for weeks. She also became a subject of widely shared Internet memes, mostly for the green dress she was wearing. However, many social media users also praised her for her beauty, elegant poise, the way she carried herself in the courtroom, and the mysterious aura of her personality.
Personal life
Chanley Painter is single and has never been married before. As a model, however, she has done wedding photoshoots on multiple occasions. While Painter is an active social media user, she has kept her personal life rather private. For instance, she has not posted anything about her previous relationships or any boyfriends she had. She, however, has posed for photographs with her family members on several occasions.
Painter is a fan of adventurous sports and loves travelling to new places, and being outdoors. As apparent in her Instagram posts, she enjoys skydiving, horse riding, and kayaking. She is also a musical and martial arts enthusiast. Painter holds a first-degree black belt in Grandmaster Han’s World Youn Wha Ryu martial arts. Painter maintains a unique haircut that changes from time to time.
