Pamela Goodwine speaks to supporters at her election night watch party in Lexington, Nov. 5, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes)
LEXINGTON — After her historic win Tuesday night, which saw her become the first Black woman elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court, Pamela Goodwine fielded cheers, hugs and photos from a crowd of supporters.
As her watch party wound down at the Elwood Hotel in Lexington, Gov. Andy Beshear’s senior advisor, Rocky Adkins, was among those to congratulate her on the win.
Goodwine spoke with the Kentucky Lantern in Lexington at the end of the evening about her long career of history-making firsts and her hopes for the future. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Kentucky Lantern: First, why do you think voters chose you?
Justice-elect Pamela Goodwine: I think the voters in Kentucky want a justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court with experience and independence. I bring 25 years of judicial experience to this position. Now, having served at every level of the judiciary, I think it’s vitally important to bring that kind of experience and to know how to serve as a judge on day one. I think that’s what the voters of Kentucky understand to be an important criterion for a justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court.
KL: What’s been the proudest moment of your career so far, if you can pick one?
Pamela Goodwine makes history again as first Black woman elected to Kentucky Supreme Court
PG: I don’t know that I can single out one particular first other than to say that I remember telling my daddy when I was about 17 that I was going to be the first to make a difference somewhere. I didn’t know at that time that it would be Lexington, Kentucky. But when I came here in 1979, 45 years ago, with my steno machine as a certified court reporter, I said ‘I’m starting out as a court reporter, but one day, I’m going to be a justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court.’
KL: In 2003, when you won the circuit judge seat, you were quoted saying you had your eyes set on the stars, and one of the stars was the Kentucky Supreme Court. Now that you’re here, do you have your eyes set on any other stars?
PG: I honestly cannot say that I have my eyes set on another star, other than to be the best justice I can be, to serve as a justice and for justice for all. However, I also have a saying, and I’m known for saying, ‘never stop dreaming.’ So once I begin my new role and settle into that new role, new dreams may form.
And knowing that I’m helping to shape the lives of younger women students who are coming along is tremendously fulfilling, and knowing I am that trailblazer for them is tremendously fulfilling. But I don’t have a retirement date in mind.
Whether that goal will be to become chief justice at some point, whether it’s to pursue a career federally, at some point, I can assure the 5th Appellate District that I will serve out my term.
I had the dream of becoming a Kentucky Supreme Court Justice for so long, I never looked beyond that point. But, like I said, I also have the philosophy to never stop dreaming, so I’m sure the dream will continue. I just don’t know what that is quite yet.
KL: You’ve overcome a lot of challenges — living with Crohn’s, losing both parents at a young age. What do you think the role of resilience is and will continue to be in your career?
PG: It will continue to play a very significant role. As a young teenager, when I first entered the workforce, my father told me something, he said, ‘there is never an excuse for not going to work.’
I remember that little nugget of knowledge, ‘there is no excuse for not going to work. You might not feel well, but you’re gonna go to work unless you’re contagious or on your deathbed.’ And my staff over the years, (has said) ‘do you ever take vacation? Do you ever get sick? Do you ever not come to work?’ And I said, ‘No, no. When I commit to a position, I’m committed to that position.’
I believe in giving whatever I do my all, whether it’s a position, whether it’s a campaign, whatever it is, I’m going to give it my all, 110%, and I think that’s shown throughout my 25-year history on the court, and I’m going to take that dedication and that resilience to the next level.
KL: You’ve made history a lot, both in gender and race. How important is representation?
PG: Representation is very important — and it’s important because seeing is believing. These two young interns in my office, they see that I’ve achieved the goals that I’ve set for myself. They see that they can come to me, that they can talk to me, they can express themselves to me, and they too can set their goals and their dreams, knowing that they can attain them.
More importantly than that, I always believed that it was a lot easier for someone of color to stand before me and face sentencing, when that sentence came from me, and when I talked to them about why they were there, why I was doing what I was doing, and understanding that that wasn’t the end of the road, that I wasn’t throwing away the key, but I was simply imposing a punishment with the idea and belief that that did not define them, that they had a future.
And for those who would look at me and say, ‘well, what do you know?’ I welcome those comments. What do you know? And I would take a moment and say, here’s what I know. And I would share (about) growing up in the inner city, growing up in lower middle-class.
Understand that this wasn’t given to me, it wasn’t handed down from a generation. This was something that I dreamed of and that I worked for.
KL: To finish off with a fun question, I’m told you teach Jazzercise and are known as the Jazzercise Judge. Will that continue to be a way you support your mental health as a justice?
PG: Jazzercise really was my outlet. The first year I Jazzercised, no one knew I was a judge. I was just Pam. So it was somewhere I could go and just be me. I will continue to jazzercise. I may not continue to teach — 12 years ago, when I decided to teach, I thought I would only do it for 10 years. It’s been 12, and it may be time to hang up the microphone, although I haven’t decided that quite yet.
But I will, whether I teach or not, continue to go because it is a fantastic exercise regimen, and it is an excellent way to relieve stress. And we’re a family in classes; we’re all family, and you dance like nobody’s watching. It’s phenomenal.
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