| Pamela Goodwine | |
| Office: | Justice-elect of the Kentucky Supreme Court |
| Term Start: | January 1, 2025 |
| Predecessor: | Laurance B. VanMeter |
| Birth Place: | Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Children: | 2 |
| Education: | University of Kentucky (BA, JD) Duke University (LLM) |
Pamela R. Goodwine is an American judge serving as Justice-elect of the Kentucky Supreme Court, a position to which she was elected in November 2024. She previously held roles as a district and circuit judge in Fayette County and as a judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, becoming the first Black woman from Lexington to serve on both the appellate and Supreme Court levels in Kentucky.
Goodwine is from Youngstown, Ohio.[1] After completing high school, she initially pursued a career as a court stenographer, working in Kentucky. Her interest in the legal field developed further, prompting her to attend college. In 1991, she graduated with a degree from the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics.[2] Following her undergraduate studies, she enrolled in the University of Kentucky College of Law, where she obtained a J.D. in 1994.
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. 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. She was subsequently elected to continue serving as a district judge, a role she held until November 2003.
In November 2003, Goodwine was elected as a Circuit Judge for Fayette County, where she served for 15 years until 2018. During her tenure as a circuit judge, she held the position of Chief Regional Circuit Judge. She presided over Fayette County Specialty Court from 2011 until her election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2018. Goodwine was re-elected to the Court of Appeals unopposed in 2022. In January 2023, she was appointed Chief Judge Pro Tem of the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
In May 2023, Goodwine completed an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law. 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.
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.[3] 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.
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. She has Crohn's disease, which required multiple surgeries. Goodwine credits her resilience to support from family and her church community in Lexington.
Goodwine is married to Lee A. Padgett, Jr., and together they have two children. She has been a certified Jazzercise instructor since 2012.