On Monday, November 17, 2025, Spectrum News 1 reported that a Louisville attorney is seeking the impeachment of a Kentucky Supreme Court justice, alleging a conflict of interest in a case she heard.
Jack Richardson, a corporate law and divorce attorney, filed a petition last month with the Kentucky House of Representatives calling for the impeachment of 5th Supreme Court District Justice Pamela Goodwine.
Richardson, who previously headed the Jefferson County Republican Party, claims in his seven-page petition that Goodwine had a “blatant conflict of interest” when she participated in the case of Russell Coleman v. the Jefferson County Board of Education and Robbie Fletcher, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education. The case revolved around a challenge to the 2022 law concerning superintendents’ powers.
Richardson specifically points to the high court’s decision to rehear the lawsuit in August, after Goodwine voted for the rehearing in 2024, as evidence of the conflict. He argues that rehearings are uncommon and suggests that contributions from the Kentucky Education Association’s PAC and Gov. Andy Beshear’s PAC influenced Goodwine’s decision.
Campaign finance records from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance confirm that both the Kentucky Educators’ Political Action Committee and Gov. Beshear’s In This Together PAC donated to Goodwine. Richardson stated that Goodwine could have avoided the situation by recusing herself, but he believes it appears to be a “pay-for-play type of situation.”
Ken Katkin, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law, offered a different perspective, stating that it is inevitable that interest groups will donate to judicial campaigns of candidates who align with their agenda. He argued that if judges were required to recuse themselves from every case involving donors who might hope for a certain outcome, most judges would have to recuse themselves from most cases.
Katkin also characterized the impeachment effort as a political move, given the composition of the state legislature and the current political climate, adding that partisan attacks on the judiciary are unfortunate but perhaps inevitable in the current environment.
The Kentucky House of Representatives has the option to consider the impeachment during its 60-day legislative session, which commences in January. Spectrum News reached out to Laura Leigh Goins, the communications director for the House Majority, but she declined to comment.
Gov. Beshear’s communications director, Scotte Ellis, issued a statement calling the impeachment effort a “blatant, politically motivated move to pressure a Supreme Court Justice and limit free speech.” Ellis noted that Richardson’s political background and legal expertise should make him aware that the petition is baseless and potentially violates his duties as an attorney. Ellis defended Gov. Beshear’s right to support candidates, pointing out that high-profile Republicans have also endorsed and supported judges in numerous races.
Jim Hannah, the communication director for the Supreme Court of Kentucky, stated that the Court has no further comment on the impeachment petition at this time.
Source: Spectrum News 1
