The Kentucky Senate is poised to suspend the impeachment proceedings against Fayette County Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman while the Judicial Conduct Commission directs its own investigation.
The Senate impeachment committee voted unanimously to halt the proceedings “indefinitely” Wednesday morning. GOP Sen. Brandon Storm of London, who chairs the committee, said the Senate could resume the trial next year depending on what the commission does.
"I cannot stress enough that the actions this committee takes today are driven by two factors only, the Senate's duties under the Constitution and fairness to the defendant,” Storm said. “It is the sense of this committee that those two concerns can be best served by tabling further proceedings in this matter."
The full Kentucky Senate is expected to vote on Storm’s resolution to table the trial Wednesday, the last day of the legislative session.
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled last week that lawmakers cannot continue with the proceedings because of procedural flaws and constitutional separation of powers concerns. House Republicans accused Goodman of willfully ignoring precedent and state laws in her rulings and statement from the bench, but the court said those allegations did not reach the threshold of a “misdemeanor in office.”
Storm’s resolution challenged the Supreme Court’s decision, questioning its authority to stop the proceedings and noting that “the power of impeachment is solely given to the legislative branch of government to act as a constitutional check on the executive and judicial branches of government,” and that the court had “attempted to usurp” the legislative impeachment power.
In the hearing, Storm said the Supreme Court’s opinion did not factor into their choice to halt proceedings, but the revelation that the Judicial Conduct Commission is conducting its own inquiry changed the calculus.
"This will allow the JCC to complete its role if necessary, this matter can proceed to another legislative session,” Storm said.
The Supreme Court’s decision acknowledged for the first time that the Judicial Conduct Commission, which has the constitutional authority to investigate and address judicial misconduct, is looking into allegations against Goodman. The commission initially declined to inform the House whether they were looking into Goodman’s conduct.
The court ruled that the JCC has the authority to look into questions over the judge's conduct on the bench and that the legislature overstepped when it pursued an impeachment inquiry against her.
"It is unfortunate that the existence of that was not known to the house when the inquiry early in the process was requested," Storm said.
Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said Wednesday that the Supreme Court decision never “entered into the situation” and that they want to see how the commission handles Goodman’s case first.
“It became quite evident that people were afraid to file claims in front of the Judicial Conduct Commission, because they were like, well, what happens? We have statistics that they very rarely act on complaints,” Stivers said. “We're going to see what they do, and then if they don't do anything, we can come back and take action.”
The resolution calls for the commission to “immediately conduct open and public proceedings” concerning Goodman’s conduct. The commission’s investigations are often confidential, but if the group files formal charges, then those are made public, as are subsequent hearings.
Storm’s resolution is clear that the Senate reserves the right to pick up the impeachment proceedings later and that it should not be considered an acquittal.
“The suspension of proceedings at this time does not constitute a decision or judgment on the House of Representatives' Articles of Impeachment against Judge Goodman, nor does it constitute any relinquishing of the right to do so under the proper circumstances in the future,” the resolution reads.
Democratic Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong voted in favor of tabling the impeachment trial, but said she would have preferred they dismiss the proceedings altogether.
“The Supreme Court clearly ruled that further action would be unconstitutional, and my preference would be that this body clearly state its intent to comply with that order,” Chambers Armstrong said. “However, because this is an indefinite stay, I will vote yes today.”
Impeachments are exceedingly 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.
The last time a judge was indicted was in 1916, when the House accused McCreary County Judge J.E. Williams of misusing public funds, but the Senate failed to convict him. Goodman’s impeachment is the first of a judge since a 1975 constitutional amendment unified the court system into a centrally-funded and organized Judicial Branch.
Former GOP Rep. Killian Timoney, who is seeking reelection this year to the state House, filed the impeachment petition against Goodman, noting six cases — most of which are ongoing and under appeal.
Timoney said in a Tuesday Facebook post that he had not made the decision to file the petition “lightly” but did so for Tammy Botkin, who died in a 2020 hit-and-run in Lexington, and her family. Botkin’s was one of the six cases in which Timoney and lawmakers accused Goodman of abusing her judicial discretion. Timoney has not testified publicly on the petition.
“These impeachment proceedings matter. They seek accountability and they send a message to Tammy’s family, and to families across Kentucky, that their voices matter and that justice will not be cast aside without scrutiny,” Timoney said. “They reaffirm a simple but essential truth: the rule of law must be upheld, and those entrusted to carry it out must be held to the highest standard.”
*This story has been updated to include details from the Wednesday morning impeachment committee hearing.
