Justice Pamela R. Goodwine was
elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court in November 2024 from the 5th Appellate
District comprising Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison,
Scott and Woodford Counties. Upon taking office on January 6, 2025, she became
the first woman and fifth Justice to serve at all four levels of the judiciary
in Kentucky.
Prior to being elected to the
Supreme Court, Justice Goodwine served six years as a Judge of the Kentucky
Court of Appeals. She was elected in November 2018 and re-elected unopposed in
2022. She chaired the Prehearing Conference and Personnel Committees. In
January 2023, Chief Judge Larry E. Thompson named her Deputy Chief Judge.
Before her election to the Court of Appeals, Justice Goodwine was the Chief Regional Circuit Judge for Fayette County. She has been a circuit court judge since November 2003 and a district court judge from August 1999 until November 2003.
Justice Goodwine was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. In November 1979, she moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to work as a court stenographer. Despite facing tragedy, obstacles and a life-threatening illness, Justice Goodwine earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky, Carol Martin Gatton College of Business, in 1991. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1994 and was admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in October 1994. She was in private practice with the law firm Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs from 1994 until her appointment to the district court bench in August 1999, where she focused primarily on labor and employment law. More recently, Justice Goodwine obtained her Master of Laws degree in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law in May 2023.
Before her appointment to
the bench, Justice Goodwine chaired the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and
served as a commissioner of that agency. In February 2000, Justice Goodwine was
inducted into the Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics Alumni
Hall of Fame and in May 2000, she was named the Fayette County Bar
Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer.
On September 21, 2012, Justice Goodwine received the Henry V. Pennington Trial Judge of the Year Award from the Kentucky Justice Association. She also served as a Fayette County Drug Court judge from 2011 until her election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In March 2018, Justice Goodwine received the 2018 “Women Making History" Award from the Kentucky Commission on Women and in April 2018, she was honored with the Carl Brashear , “Walking by Faith" Award from the Carter G. Woodson Academy. In April 2019, she received the “Fair Administration of Justice" Award from the Kentucky Academy of Defense Lawyers, followed by the “Distinguished Jurist" Award from the UK College of Law Alumni Association in June 2019, and the “Torch of Excellence" Award from the UK College of Law Alumni Association in October 2019 at the 29th Annual Lyman T. Johnson Awards Banquet. She was named one of The Kentucky Gazette's 2020 Most Notable Women in Kentucky Politics and Government.
In February 2025, Chief Justice Lambert awarded her the Justice William E. McAnulty Award in appreciation for her outstanding service and dedication to the Kentucky Court of Justice. In June 2025, she was awarded the Nathaniel Harper Award from the Kentucky Bar Association's Young Lawyers.
Justice Goodwine is a
member of the National Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, and the
Fayette County Bar Association. She is a Life Fellow of the Kentucky Bar
Foundation. She is active in the community and is a member
of Central Kentucky American Inns of Court, the Lexington Forum, and the Rotary
Club of Lexington. She is a frequent motivational speaker and presenter for
continuing legal education.
Justice Goodwine is married to Lee A. Padgett, Jr. They share a large family. In June 2012, Justice Goodwine was certified as a Jazzercise fitness instructor. She enjoys motivational speaking, interior design, and health, fitness and wellness classes.