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UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2573
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A RESOLUTION laying before the House of Representatives Articles of 1
Impeachment against Julie Muth Goodman, Circuit Judge for the 22nd Judic ial Circuit 2
consisting of Fayette County. 3
WHEREAS, Section 66 of the Constitution of Kentucky vests the sole power of 4
impeachment with the House of Representatives; and 5
WHEREAS, Section 68 of the Constitution of Kentucky provides that all civil 6
officers are liable to impeachment for any misdemeanors in office; and 7
WHEREAS, Section 109 of the Judicial Article of the Constitution of Kentucky 8
provides, "The impeachment powers of the General Assembly shall remain inviolate"; 9
and 10
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, t he House Committee on Committees created a 11
House Impeachment Committee and appointed members to review citizen petitions filed 12
with the House Clerk; and 13
WHEREAS, on January 28, 2026, the Clerk of the House of Representatives 14
received a petition filed by a private citizen calling for the impeachment of Julie Muth 15
Goodman, Circuit Judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit identifying six cases that alleged 16
abuses of both judicial discretion and authority; and 17
WHEREAS, the cases to which the petition referred includ ed, Commonwealth v. 18
Cornell Denmark Thomas, II, Fayette Circuit Court, 21 -CR-0336; Commonwealth v. 19
Domonick Donte Jones, Fayette Circuit Court, 23 -CR-0394; Commonwealth v. James 20
Harvey Hendron, Fayette Circuit Court, 18 -CR-1084; Gregory Simpson v. Abigail 21
Caudill, Warden, Fayette Circuit Court, 23 -CI-2878; Kenneth Ain, MD v. University of 22
Kentucky, Fayette Circuit Court, 23 -CI-3018; and Caitlin Huff, et al. v. University of 23
Kentucky, et al., Fayette Circuit Court, 23-CI-1684; and 24
WHEREAS, the petition filed regarding Judge Goodman was referred to the House 25
Impeachment Committee on January 29, 2026; and 26
WHEREAS, on January 30, 2026, the House Impeachment Committee transmitted 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2573
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a letter to Judge Goodman providing a copy of the petition and providing her the 1
opportunity to respond to the petition; and 2
WHEREAS, on February 23, 2026, Judge Goodman, through her counsel, 3
transmitted a written response to the petition to the House Impeachment Committee; and 4
WHEREAS, following the response, the House Impeachment Committee 5
designated March 16, 2026, as a hearing date; and 6
WHEREAS, notice of the hearing was provided to Judge Goodman and 7
acknowledged by her counsel on March 3, 2026; and 8
WHEREAS, the House Impeachment Committee heard testimony on March 16, 9
2026, from Judge Goodman and her attorneys; from Kimberly Baird, the 10
Commonwealth's attorney for the 22nd Judicial Circuit; and from Doug Botkin, the 11
surviving spouse of the victim killed when a vehicle driven by Cornell Thomas collided 12
with the victim's vehicle; and 13
WHEREAS, the House Impeachment Committee independently reviewed various 14
statements and actions made by Judge Goodman in conjunction with the testimony the 15
committee received during the hearing on March 16, 2026; and 16
WHEREAS, based upon this independent review, the House Impeachment 17
Committee finds and declares that the citizen petition is valid; and 18
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the validity of the petition and in accordance with the 19
authority granted by the Constitution of Kentucky, the House Impeachment Committee 20
finds that Judge Julie Muth Goodman committed misdemeanors in office, constituting a 21
reasonable ba sis upon which to recommend that Judge Julie Muth Goodman be 22
impeached and removed from office; 23
NOW, THEREFORE, 24
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the 25
Commonwealth of Kentucky: 26
Section 1. The Articles of Impeachment filed with this Resolution are approved 27
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as adopted. 1
Section 2. A committee, with appropriate staff, shall be appointed by the 2
Speaker of the House to prosecute these Articles before the Senate. 3
Section 3. The Chair of the committee appointed to prosecute these Articles 4
shall lay the Articles before the Senate within five days as required by law, and shall 5
transmit a complete record of the Impeachment Committee proceedings, including copies 6
of all documents received by the Committee. 7
8
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ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 1
The Commonwealth of Kentucky, by the House of Representatives of the General 2
Assembly, by virtue of the authority vested in it by Section 66 of th e Constitution of 3
Kentucky and the laws of this Commonwealth, hereby charges Julie Muth Goodman, 4
Circuit Judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, through the following Articles of 5
Impeachment, to wit: 6
ARTICLE I 7
During her term of office, Judge Goodman abused the powers of the office she 8
holds. This conduct constitutes a misdemeanor in office for which impeachment and 9
removal from office is warranted by Section 68 of the Constitution of Kentucky. 10
ARTICLE II 11
During her term of office, Judge Goodman defied binding precedents established by 12
the highest courts of this Commonwealth. This conduct constitutes a misdemeanor in 13
office for which impeachment and removal from office is warranted by Section 68 of the 14
Constitution of Kentucky. 15
ARTICLE III 16
During her term of office, Judge Goodman defied statutes enacted by the General 17
Assembly and defied rules of the Kentucky Court of Justice. This conduct constitutes a 18
misdemeanor in office for which impeachment and removal from office is warranted by 19
Section 68 of the Constitution of Kentucky. 20
ARTICLE IV 21
During her term of office, Judge Goodman interfered with the rights and powers of 22
the grand jury, trial court jurors, attorneys, and others to perform their respective roles 23
within the Kentucky Court of Justice. This conduc t constitutes a misdemeanor in office 24
for which impeachment and removal from office is warranted by Section 68 of the 25
Constitution of Kentucky. 26
ARTICLE V 27
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During her term of office, Judge Goodman abused the powers of the office she 1
holds; defied binding pr ecedents from the highest courts of this Commonwealth, statutes 2
enacted by the General Assembly, and rules of the Kentucky Court of Justice; and 3
interfered with the rights and powers of the grand jury, trial court jurors, attorneys, and 4
others to perform t heir respective roles within the Kentucky Court of Justice. This 5
conduct constitutes a misdemeanor in office for which impeachment and removal from 6
office is warranted by Section 68 of the Constitution of Kentucky. 7