Kentucky Supreme Court

With the election of Kentucky’s first Black female justice, Pamela Goodwine, women will hold four of the court’s seven seats. Additionally, the court will be led by the first female chief justice, Deputy Chief Justice Debra Lambert, starting in January.

Pamela Goodwine defeated Erin Izzo to win a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court.

An independent judicial watchdog group has criticized both Pamela Goodwine and Erin Izzo in the Kentucky Supreme Court race for either accepting or touting partisan endorsements.

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled last week that, in order to deny open records requests, police departments must show that releasing the requested documents, images or videos would cause “actual harm” – even during active investigations.

For the first time in history, Kentucky's Judicial Branch will be led by a woman. Kentucky Supreme Court justices have elected Deputy Chief Justice Debra Lambert to lead the high court.

What records – if any – should be made available to the public during active criminal investigations or prosecution? That was the central question that Kentucky Supreme Court justices heard arguments about on Wednesday in a case that could determine whether a police department is allowed to withhold records from a news outlet because of the records’ connections to a criminal investigation.

Lisa Sobel thinks any Kentuckian who has a uterus should have standing to challenge the state’s abortion ban. The Kentucky Supreme Court and, more recently, a judge in Louisville, disagree.

Letter warns governor’s endorsement blurs judicial, partisan lines in nonpartisan race. Goodwine emphasizes her record of ‘impartiality, fairness and justice.’

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court ruling that Rep. Nima Kulkarni is disqualified from running in the Democratic primary.

A majority of Kentucky justices did not file financial disclosures last year and did not file their reports on time in 2024, adding to existing criticisms that the state’s judicial transparency rules are among the worst in the country.