Fayette judge’s impeachment hearing won’t be delayed, court order says
.jpg "Fayette County District Court Judge Julie Muth Goodman")
A legislative hearing on the impeachment of a Fayette County judge can continue as planned Monday, a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled Friday.
Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Wednesday and asked the court to hold a hearing before Kentucky’s House impeachment committee takes up its impeachment hearing at a meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.
The lawsuit names as defendants Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, who is chair of the 2026 Regular Session Impeachment Committee, House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, and former state Rep. Killian Timoney, who filed the impeachment petition against Goodman in January.
Goodman argues the legislative proceedings are violating her right to due process, and she asked the court for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction before Monday.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd declined to grant a hearing on those issues before Monday’s proceedings, instead scheduling the case for a status conference the following day, March 17.
“The Court believes that it would be an improper intrusion into the legislative branch to enjoin a meeting of a legislative committee,” Shepherd wrote in an order Friday. “Moreover, this Court will not presume that the legislature, its committees, or Committee Chair Nemes, will not act in accordance with constitutional and statutory requirements in their consideration of the impeachment petition against Judge Goodman.
“Since the Committee has taken no action on the merits of the impeachment petition at this point, the claims asserted by Judge Goodman regarding the conduct of the legislative committee hearing may not be fully ripe for judicial review.”
But Shepherd did note that Goodman “raised significant issues regarding whether there is a sufficient allegation of a ‘misdemeanor in office’ to support any legislative action, and she has alleged that the hearing will inflict irreparable reputational injury on her.”
Shepherd said there is no “precedent for the impeachment of a Kentucky judge for conduct of the type alleged in this petition.”
He also said there’s no legislative statute that defines “misdemeanor in office,” or any court precedent that establishes the legislature’s right “to conduct impeachment proceedings for the causes alleged in the unverified impeachment petition.”
In response to Goodman’s concern that she will suffer “reputational injury,” the judge said the committee chair can limit testimony to issues relevant to a “misdemeanor in office.” He also suggested the legislature could choose to dismiss or refuse to act on the petition against Goodman, which would render a ruling on the constitutional issues raised by Goodman moot.
Shepherd suggested that the parties to the suit meet to determine a “fair and efficient” means of handling the situation.
“The impeachment process is not intended to be a forum for disappointed litigants to air their every personal or professional grievance against a judge who has ruled against them,” he wrote.
Timoney, a Republican who is running for office to represent the 45th District, cited six cases in which he alleged that Goodman has abused her authority as a judge and undermined public confidence in the court system.
Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird is among the witnesses who will testify at the impeachment hearing, Goodman’s lawsuit says.
Baird has asked the committee to impeach Goodman, saying there is an appearance of partiality on Goodman’s part.
