GOP lawmakers ask KY Supreme Court to reconsider Judge Goodman impeachment order

Two Republican state lawmakers asked the Kentucky Supreme Court on April 27 to withdraw its opinion nullifying the April impeachment of Fayette County Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman.

The 5-to-1 opinion, issued in early April, voided the Goodman impeachment and said the legislators’ actions were done wrongfully.

Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, and House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, requested the Supreme Court rehear the case, saying that the court wrongly constrained the General Assembly’s impeachment power.

“The Court has turned Kentucky’s most-robust-in-the-nation doctrine of separation of powers on its head, co-opting for itself a power granted explicitly in the text of the Constitution to the General Assembly — most ironically justifying its action on separation of powers grounds,” the petition reads.

The Kentucky House impeached Goodman on March 20 in a 73-14 vote, largely along party lines, with Republicans voting in favor.

The case was headed to the Senate for a trial, where Goodman could have been convicted and removed from office, an unprecedented move in Kentucky’s modern history. But on April 6, the state’s highest court ruled the effort was invalid and should not proceed.

The ruling struck a nerve with the General Assembly, who issued four resolutions on the last day of the session — two in the House and two in the Senate — pushing back against the court. Lawmakers asserted they had the right to impeach Goodman if they wanted to and censured Justice Kelly Thompson for his concurring opinion.

“The Kentucky judiciary is now a power unto itself,” the lawmakers’ petition states.

According to Nemes and Osborne, the Supreme Court incorrectly interpreted Section 121 of the Kentucky Constitution to determine which body has impeachment power of judges.

Nemes was the chair of the House committee that led Goodman’s impeachment.

Goodman’s lawyers argued — and the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed — the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission exists to investigate claims of judicial misconduct, and that power does not rest with Kentucky lawmakers.

Overall, the petition requests the Kentucky Supreme Court withdraw its opinion, allow for a fuller briefing and to hear oral arguments.

“If the Court is going to hold in a published decision that Kentucky judges are essentially immune from impeachment despite the arguments raised above, the Court should reach such a momentous conclusion only after full briefing and oral argument,” the petition read.

Senate president supports legislators’ petition

Goodman’s impeachment petition was filed in January by former Kentucky lawmaker Killian Timoney, a Republican seeking to regain his Lexington-area House seat. Timoney claimed Goodman had abused her office and ignored the law, citing as evidence six particular cases in her courtroom.

The House of Representatives issued articles of impeachment against Goodman and her case would have gone to the Senate for a full trial. However, because the Supreme Court intervened, the Senate was not able to move forward.

The Senate did not concede that it would not impeach Goodman. Instead, it approved a resolution vowing to act if the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission did not sanction Goodman.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, submitted a motion supporting Nemes’ and Osborne’s petition.

In the document, Stivers said he has a “unique, legitimate, and important public interest in preserving the role of the Kentucky Senate as the proper body to try all impeachments.”

Stivers said the Supreme Court’s orders “usurped the exclusive right of the Kentucky Senate to try all impeachments,” and violated the separation of powers doctrine.

Stivers said his motion shall not be seen as an acknowledgement that the General Assembly will not proceed with impeachment proceedings against Goodman.

The Supreme Court has not made a ruling on the petition or motions.

Goodman’s attorney, Robert McBride, told the Herald-Leader the petition for the rehearing has no merit.

Taylor Six

Lexington Herald-Leader

Taylor Six is the criminal justice reporter at the Herald-Leader. She was born and raised in Lexington attending Lafayette High School. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2018 with a degree in journalism. She previously worked as the government reporter for the Richmond Register.