Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman and her attorneys, Mitchel Denham and Robert McBride, consult with one another prior to her impeachment hearing held in room 131 at the Capitol Annex Building in Frankfort, Ky, on March 16, 2026.
READ MORE
Judge Julie Goodman impeachment
Former Kentucky state Rep. Killian Timoney filed a petition in January to impeach Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman over her handling of six different cases in Lexington. Goodman and her legal team deny any misconduct, and other legal professionals have raised concerns about the possible precedent an impeachment could set.
Expand All
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Monday that state lawmakers cannot proceed with upcoming impeachment proceedings against Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman.
The opinion and order, written by Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert, voided Goodman’s articles of impeachment, and ordered the General Assembly stop further impeachment proceedings.
The court ruled the impeachment effort violated Goodman’s due process rights, her offenses were not impeachable, and that impeachment by the legislature was not the proper venue for judicial reprimand.
It also ruled the impeachment effort violated the separation of powers doctrine in the Kentucky Constitution.
“Kentucky’s Constitution contemplates co-equal branches of government,” Lambert wrote. “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.
“This would not be co-equal. It would not be constitutional. It would be tyrannical.”
Monday’s ruling marked resounding victory for Goodman, who sought to fight lawmakers’ unprecedented effort to remove her from office.
The court ruled 5-1 in favor of halting proceedings against the Lexington judge. Justice Christopher Shea Nickell was the lone dissenter, with one justice recusing herself.
Justice Kelly Thompson wrote that Goodman’s impeachment was based solely on the unpopularity of six rulings in her court.
“In the case before us, we should not defer to the legislature’s interpretation that a ‘misdemeanor in office’ is whatever the legislature decides it should be,” Thompson wrote. “While the legislature may say otherwise, it is evident that Judge Goodman was impeached because the legislature did not agree with her rulings in six cases, rather than that she had committed serious crimes in office.”
In Nickell’s lone dissenting opinion, he said the legislature had authority to impeach judges and could determine the scope of what is an “impeachable offense.”
Killian Timoney, a former Republican lawmaker seeking to win back his Lexington-area House seat this year, filed the petition in January, arguing Goodman had abused her office.
On March 20, Kentucky’s House of Representatives voted to impeach Goodman in a 73-14 vote, largely along party lines. Just one Republican — Rep. Daniel Elliott, of Danville — voted against the effort, and just one Democrat — Rep. Adam Moore, of Lexington, the incumbent running against Timoney in this year’s election — voted for it.
Frankfort Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled last week that Timoney’s impeachment petition was improper, but members of the Kentucky Senate said they intended to move forward anyway with a trial next week.
Both Shepherd and Lambert wrote in their rulings that the Judicial Conduct Commission, rather than the legislature, was the appropriate venue to determine what sanctions — if any — Goodman should face.
The Supreme Court also revealed for the first time that the commission is currently conducting proceedings to decide if Goodman’s conduct warrants any action.
Timoney, Rep. Jason Nemes, chair of the committee that advanced the impeachment effort to the full House, and a Senate GOP spokesperson did not immediately respond to Herald-Leader requests for comment.
Goodman’s lawyer, Robert McBride, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 2:43 PM.
Related Stories from Lexington Herald Leader
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.
