Career
Goodwine was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in October 1994 and began her legal career at Wyatt,Tarrant &Combs,a private law firm where she worked until her appointment to the judiciary in 1999. [3] Her public service career began with an appointment to the Kentucky District Court bench in August 1999,making her the first African American woman appointed to the bench in Fayette County. [3] She was subsequently elected to continue serving as a district judge,a role she held until November 2003. [3]
In November 2003,Goodwine was elected as a circuit judge for Fayette County,where she served for 15 years until 2018. [3] During her tenure as a circuit judge,she held the position of Chief Regional Circuit Judge. [3] She presided over Fayette County Specialty Court from 2011 until her election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2018. [3] Goodwine was re-elected to the Court of Appeals unopposed in 2022. [3] In January 2023,she was appointed Chief Judge Pro Tem of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. [3]
In May 2023,Goodwine completed an Master of Laws in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law. [3] This two-year program culminated in a thesis titled Fighting Death:A Critique of Kentucky’s Death Penalty System,which was scheduled for publication in the Kentucky Law Journal in spring 2024. [3]
During the 2024 Kentucky Supreme Court election,Goodwine was elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court,becoming the first Black woman from Lexington,Kentucky or Fayette County to achieve this position. [4] This role capped off a career that had spanned nearly 25 years in Kentucky's judiciary,with service at every level from district court to the state’s highest court. [4]
Personal life
Goodwine has faced several personal challenges throughout her life. In her twenties,Goodwine's father died of cancer and her mother to a domestic violence incident. [2] She has Crohn's disease,which required multiple surgeries. [2] [4] Goodwine credits her resilience to support from family and her church community in Lexington. [2] [4]
Goodwine is married to Lee A. Padgett,Jr.,and together they have two children. [2] She has been a certified Jazzercise instructor since 2012. [2]
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