User:William R. Wilks II/Impeachment in Kentucky

Limits

Under current consideration is what is considered an impeachable offense as it pertains to members of the state judicial branch, and the separation of powers. This question has been the primary subject of controversy in the ongoing efforts to impeach circuit judge Julie Goodman. Franklin County circuit judge Phillip Shepherd vacated Goodman's impeachment, although he admitted that did not have the constitutional authority to do so. In a 5-1 decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court went further and issued an injunction to stop the Senate's removal trial from beginning. This decision again, has been the subject of much debate regarding what the constitution's guarantee of "inviolable" impeachment power means, and if the state supreme court has the authority to issue such an injunction.

It has also been noted that the General Assembly does not have the power to impeach its own members, as they are not considered "civil officers." This issue was considered by the 2021 House impeachment committee due to a petition that had been filed against representative Robert Goforth following his indictment on felony assault charges.^[1] The committee determined that instead of impeachment, the more appropriate measure for disciplining members was each chamber's expulsion authority as enumerated in section 39 of the Kentucky Constitution.^[2]

House impeachment

Senate removal trial

• Mention Nemes' tenure as impeachment manager and committee chair

Elijah Craig (1801)

Thomas Jones (1803)

Thomas Jones was the county surveyor of Bourbon County, who was accused of overcharging the state, failing to perform his duties, and surveying incorrect tracts of land. While the House impeached him on twenty-two articles, Jones resigned during the Senate removal trial. The Senate subsequently set a precedent that even if an official resigns, the Senate retained their trial authority. He was found guilty on five of the articles, and barred from ever holding public office again. Notably, this was the only time the Senate summoned and conducted their removal trial in front of a jury.^[3]

Benjamin Sebastian (1806)

Benjamin Sebastian was one of the inaugural justices of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (now Kentucky Supreme Court) after Kentucky gained statehood in 1792. It was discovered in 1806 that Sebastian had been receiving an annual pension of $2,000 from the Spanish empire and was a participant in the Spanish Conspiracy, a plot related to the Burr Conspiracy, which allegedly sought to unite Kentucky with Spanish Louisiana in order to open a trade route on the Mississippi River.^[4][5]

The House impeached Sebastian, but the Senate chose not to conduct a trial as he had resigned.^[4][5]

William C. Rogers (1808)

John A. Duff (1841)

James "Honest Dick" Tate (1888)

Likely the most famous impeachment in Kentucky was against one of the commonwealth's most infamous figures: James "Honest Dick" Tate. From 1867 until his disappearance and subsequent removal from office in 1888, Tate had served as state treasurer. Often elected unopposed, Tate was an immensely popular and well liked figure who had been granted his nickname due to his apparent "moral strength" as well as his kind disposition. So much so that during his tenure, state auditor Fayette Hewitt apparently shared the public's faith in Tate, and believed there to be no reason to examine the state treasury.^[6]

During the 1887 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Republican candidate William O'Connell Bradley made part of his campaign a call for the state treasury to be examined and the findings made public. Despite losing the election, Bradley's call stuck with lawmakers during that year's legislative session, and they began to push for a resolution which would establish a commission to examine the treasury. Tate delayed the resolution's passage for several weeks, claiming that he needed time to get this books in order. However, the General Assembly later received a message from governor Simon Bolivar Buckner that Tate had been suspended as he had been missing for several days. He was last seen in Frankfort on March 14, 1888, by a clerk who witnessed Tate carrying away a large roll of bills, a coin purse, and two tobacco sacks which were later determined to be filled with gold and silvers coins. Hewitt received a letter from Tate the next day from Louisville, stating that he would be gone for another day. Tate was never seen again.^[6]

An investigation found that as early as 1872, Tate had been embezzling funds from the state. The treasury's records were also uncared for and chaotic, with Tate apparently making little distinction between the state's finances and his own personal affairs. Throughout his tenure and by various methods, it was determined that Tate was able to steal about $247,000 (over $8.5 million in 2026).^[6]

Six articles of impeachment were filed against him with four being passed by the House (two were dropped). The Senate held an in absentia removal trial on the four articles, and subsequently removed him from office. Criminal indictments for embezzlement followed in Franklin County, but went nowhere due to Tate's disappearance.^[6]

Tate's legacy was both immediate and enduring. "Tateism" became a euphemism for corruption and political neglect of duty. His actions and his long tenure were frequently cited by delegates to the 1890-91 Kentucky Constitutional Convention, and led directly to constitutional officers being limited to serve only non-consecutive terms until 1992.^[6]

J.E. Williams (1916)

Ward "Butch" Burnette (1991)

Ronnie Goldy (2023)

In 2022, the Louisville Courier-Journal published their investigation

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Julie Goodman (2026)

Julie Goodman is a circuit judge of Kentucky's 22nd judicial circuit, which comprises all of Fayette County. In January 2026, former state representative Killian Timoney filed an impeachment petition against Goodman, which alleged that she committed impeachable misconduct and abuse of office for her mishandling of six cases.^[7] Most notable of these cases was one in which she dismissed the indictment of Cornell Thomas, an African-American man who was charged with wanton murder following a hit-and-run crash, alleging that this was an example of the a longstanding pattern of the commonwealth attorney's office overcharging black defendants.^[8] Commonwealth attorney Kimberly Baird, herself an African-American, and attorney general Russell Coleman appealed and successfully had this decision reversed by the Kentucky Court of Appeals.^[9] In a scathing 108 page opinion, the court stated that Goodman's decision was "fraught with legal errors and abuses of both its discretion and its authority."^[9]

The House impeachment committee heard testimony from Goodman, Baird, and the family of the individual killed by Thomas. Afterwards, the committee approved five articles of impeachment, which were subsequently passed by the House largely along party lines.

However, what has followed since the House's impeachment of Goodman has given rise to controversy and discussion regarding the state's separation of powers.^[10] Shortly after the House's impeachment vote, chief circuit judge Phillip Shepherd of Kentucky's 48th judicial circuit issued a ruling which declared that the impeachment was void, as both Timoney's initial petition and the House's impeachment articles failed to provide key details or to appropriately define what offenses she had committed.^[11] Further, he asserted that the state's judicial conduct commission was the appropriate venue to address the removal of judges based on their judicial actions.^[11] Ruling 5-1 in a separate appeal, the Kentucky Supreme Court issued an injunction against the Senate from conducting a removal trial, echoing much of Shepherd's reasoning while also revealing that Goodman was currently being investigated by the judicial conduct commission.^[12] Additionally, justice Kelly Thompson authored a concurring opinion which emphasized that any attorney involved in "bad faith" impeachment proceedings may face both professional and criminal consequences.^[10] Both chambers of the General Assembly responded by censuring Thompson and directing a complaint to be made against him with the judicial conduct commission, reasoning that Thompson's concurrence was a threat against their members who are attorneys.^[10] The House also adopted their own measure declaring the General Assembly has the sole authority over impeachments, and that the court's decision to enjoin the Senate's removal trial was null and void.^[13]

The Senate impeachment committee has since tabled its removal trial proceedings pending action by the judicial conduct commission against Goodman, a move which one expert said avoided a potential constitutional crisis.^[13]