The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Monday that the General Assembly did not have the constitutional power to impeach Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman based on their frustration with her rulings and judicial decisions.
Penned by Chief Justice Debra Lambert, the majority opinion ruled that lawmakers do not have unchecked authority to decide what “misdemeanors” are impeachable under the Kentucky Constitution.
“Yet the Respondents would have us interpret it (or more to the point, not interpret it) such that the Legislature may have the complete, unchecked power to impeach judicial branch officials for matters which our Constitution gives this branch the authority to address,” Lambert wrote. “This would not be co-equal. It would not be constitutional. It would be tyrannical.”
The 5-1 decision ruled that the articles of impeachment encroached on the powers of the judicial branch and were thus void. It stops any further impeachment proceedings against the judge.
Impeachments and convictions are incredibly rare in Kentucky. The state recently witnessed its first impeachment conviction in over a century in 2023, when lawmakers ousted former prosecutor Ronnie Goldy, who has since been sentenced on 14 federal charges for soliciting nude photos from a woman in exchange for court favors.
Goodman has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, but of breaking the public trust in her rulings. GOP Rep. Jason Nemes of Middletown, who chaired the impeachment committee, noted Goodman’s conduct in six cases, out of the more than 70,000 cases she has ruled on since she joined the bench as a district judge in 2008. Nemes alleged that Goodman had willfully ignored existing laws and precedent in her rulings. Most of those cases are still under appeal, which Goodman said meant she would not be able to fully defend her decisions.
Most Democrats and only one Republican — who chairs the House judiciary committee — voted against the measure to impeach.
“For more than two centuries, Kentucky has treated impeachment as a narrow safeguard against egregious crimes, not as a ready instrument of partisan contest or policy review,” wrote Justice Kelly Thompson in a concurring opinion.
Republican Leadership in the House and Senate did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Impeachment proceedings were scheduled to begin April 16, the day after lawmakers concluded the legislative session.
Judge Pamela Goodwine recused herself from the case. She herself is the subject of an impeachment petition submitted this session, but lawmakers have not advanced it. Nemes previously said that the business of the impeachment committee has concluded.
A Franklin Circuit Court judge had already struck down the resolution, citing similar separation of powers concerns, but acknowledged that the Supreme Court would have the final say. That ruling was not enough for the Senate to cancel proceedings.
The Supreme Court opinion said that the misconduct allegations brought against Goodman should have been addressed by the Judicial Conduct Commission, which has the constitutional authority to do so, instead of through the legislative branch. There is no evidence that Goodman has received complaints about or been disciplined by the commission.
“The allegations were therefore inappropriate for review by the Legislature as ‘misdemeanors in office’ and should have instead been addressed via the well-established appellate process and constitutionally provided judicial discipline proceedings within the Judicial Branch,” the opinion reads.
Justice Shea Nickell was the lone dissenting opinion. He argued that while he does not condone the proceedings, the court doesn’t have the authority to stop them.
“To be clear, my determination that the General Assembly possesses constitutional authority to initiate and maintain the instant impeachment proceedings should not be understood as condoning its exercise of that authority in this case and under these facts nor as discounting the potential deleterious impact such action may inflict upon the integrity and independence of the Judicial Branch,” wrote Justice Shea Nickell.
Former state Rep. Killian Timoney, who is seeking reelection, filed the initial impeachment petition against Goodman. His lack of signed affidavit was another ground by which the justices took issue with the impeachment resolution.
