LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Franklin Circuit Court judge on Tuesday voided the impeachment of Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman, saying she committed no offenses or misconduct that rose to the level of impeachment.

The ruling by Judge Phillip Shepherd nullifies a House Resolution that, on March 20, impeached Goodman in an unprecedented move.

“The Court finds and declares that the legislative impeachment power does not extend to a judge’s rulings or court administration unless such conduct involves criminal acts beyond the scope of lawful judicial duties,” Shepherd wrote in his ruling. “To the extent that the removal of a Judge is sought based on her judicial actions, such claims must be adjudicated by the Judicial Conduct Commission and the Kentucky Supreme Court under ... the Kentucky Constitution.”

Goodman’s lawyer, Robert McBride, did not immediately comment on the development Tuesday morning.

Killian Timoney, a former Republican lawmaker seeking to win back his Lexington-area House seat this year, filed the impeachment petition in January, arguing Goodman had abused her office. He cited six particular cases in Goodman’s courtroom as grounds for impeachment.

Goodman asked several courts, beginning with Shepherd’s, to intervene and halt the proceedings, arguing her due process rights were being violated.

Shepherd declined earlier this month to intervene, and Goodman took that fight to the appeals court, and then the Kentucky Supreme Court, where it remains now for consideration.

But while the state’s highest court is considering that claim, Shepherd weighed in Tuesday to void the impeachment petition.

The Kentucky House voted 73-14 to impeach Goodman, largely along party lines. Just one Republican voted against the effort, and one Democrat voted in favor.

Shepherd wrote that the impeachment petition failed to identify key facts, witnesses, dates and legal violations, and that Goodman lacked fair notice to meaningfully defend herself against the claims.

The impeachment was slated to head April 6 to the Kentucky Senate, which would decide at a trial whether to convict and remove her from office.

Shepherd wrote that he would not stop proceedings in the Senate since it was not a named party in Goodman’s suit, and he would “not presume that it will act in a manner inconsistent” with the state constitution or his judicial order, but it was not immediately clear Tuesday morning what would happen next in the case.

One of the key points of contention for Goodman’s lawyers was whether the Kentucky General Assembly is the proper avenue to consider claims of judicial misconduct, or whether that power should rest solely with the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

Shepherd noted that the chief witness for the House committee that advanced the impeachment petition was Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Kimberly Baird. Shepherd’s ruling quoted Baird’s comment to the committee that she “wasn’t sure if (she) had enough for the JCC to actually remove (Goodman).”

Shepherd wrote that the legislature “has now asserted the power to remove judges and justices from office because it disagrees with their rulings” and that such unchecked power would “destroy the system of checks and balances ... enshrined in the Kentucky Constitution.”

Shepherd also acknowledged the matter is “ultimately subject to the ruling of the Supreme Court.”

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