Correction: A previous version of this story identified Judge Pamela Goodwine as the first Black woman on the Court of Appeals. This information is incorrect. Judge Denise Clayton from Jefferson County, was the first. Judge Goodwine is the first Black woman from Lexington or Fayette County on the Court of Appeals. (May 9, 2023)
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Judge Pamela Goodwine has faced and successfully overcome the unexpected, and largely credits her faith, support and determination.
Judge Pamela Goodwine is one of the first judicial trailblazers at Lexington Robert F. Stephens circuit court house.
She is an example of how other women in and around central Kentucky can pursue leadership positions.
Her first job after ITT Tech brought her to Lexington as a court stenographer. Since becoming a judge, she’s dealt with several challenges with her family back home in Youngstown, Ohio.
They ranged from deaths in the family to a stay in the hospital—which resulted from a medical condition that required multiple surgeries.
“The first thing I said was, ‘When am I gonna get out of here? Because I got to go back to school, I got to go back to work. I got to go.’ And you know, the doctor looked at me like, ‘Pam, you know, you might not leave here.’” Goodwine learned.
A passion for law and changing things, like those she credits for paving the way for Black people in law, led her to amazing heights.
Goodwine worked for a top law firm, pursuing college at the University of Kentucky, and later becoming the first of many female judges.
“There was no one in that courthouse that looked like me,” Goodwine added.
Before reaching the top, misfortune took its course while in her 20s. After months at his side, she lost her father to cancer and a short time later, a deadly-domestic shooting claimed the life of her mother.
“I didn’t have an opportunity to develop friends or a support network, so I was just out there.” She said.
Goodwine says the support of a church that welcomed her like family and her relatives back home in Youngstown helped her back on her feet.
When she’s not in the courtroom, you’ll find Goodwine teaching Jazzercise, her form of self-preservation.
“Whatever that dream is, whatever those goals are, you have to take time out for yourself, and you have to find that mechanism that allows you to release that stress,” Goodwine explained.
Now, just a step away from taking a seat at the Kentucky Supreme Court, Judge Goodwine says only she and her faith control the outcome of her next steps.
Judge Goodwine’s goal to reach the top bench at the Kentucky State Supreme Court is still in the works and in May, she’ll receive a master’s degree in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law.