music >> But if you will say, I know the law says this, but I'm going to do that instead, then you do not deserve the black robe that you have been entrusted with.

>> Emotional arguments.

As the Kentucky House votes to impeach a sitting judge.

So what happens next?

[MUSIC] >> Production of Kentucky edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky edition for this Friday, March the 20th, the first day of spring.

I'm Renee Shaw and we thank you for jumpstarting your weekend with us.

Only twice in the last 200 years have Kentucky lawmakers pursued impeachment against judges, but none were removed from office today.

History was made yet again as the Kentucky House overwhelmingly voted to impeach a Lexington judge elected six times to the Fayette Circuit Court for abuse of office and misconduct.

An impeachment petition was filed by a former state representative who's seeking reelection to a seat he lost two years ago is our June, Leffler reports.

Though a vast majority of lawmakers voted to impeach Judge Julie Muth Goodman.

Others say there's a reason this rarely happens and shouldn't be happening.

Now that begins tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> Today, the case was made that Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman should be impeached.

>> Judge Goodman ought not be a judge in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

>> This lawyer and state representative chaired a committee that voted to bring articles of impeachment against Goodman, who testified earlier this week.

The petition that jumpstarted the proceedings cites her conduct in six cases where she allegedly abused her power and circumvented the oversight of others.

>> Judge Goodman sees herself as a law unto herself if she does not like a statute enacted by the General Assembly, she disregards it.

If she disagrees with the binding precedent of the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, she announces she will not follow it.

If she believes the prosecutor is acting improperly, she conducts her own investigation and renders her own verdict without notice, without authority, and without regard for the constitutional role of the grand jury or the petit jury.

If she believes a party deserves her protection, she says so out loud from the bench on the record in terms that make her impartiality impossible to defend.

>> The House minority floor leader and others question why this is happening now.

>> Impeachment is an extraordinary constitutional remedy.

It must be exercised with restraint and only upon clear showing of a misdemeanor, a crime in office.

The standard has not been met here.

Where is the crime?

>> The legislature's most recent impeachment subject, a Commonwealth attorney, was accused and later convicted of criminal charges for fraud and bribery.

>> From what I can tell, Mr.

Speaker, we've had four impeachments in our history, and most of those have been based upon a crime committed.

It sets a standard that many in our judiciary will question, and it seeks to overturn the will of the voters in Fayette County for reasons that have never been considered grounds for impeachment of a judge before.

So we're setting a new standard this morning.

If we do this.

>> Before this vote.

70 lawyers wrote a letter against impeachment saying it would chill the say so of judges and muddled the balance of power between the judiciary and the legislature.

Still, the House did vote to impeach in a 73 to 14 vote, largely along party lines.

>> I am terrified of the precedent of not moving forward.

If knowingly disregarding the law is not an impeachable offense, what is?

>> The Senate will take it from here by conducting a trial at some point this year, senators will have to decide if Goodman should be removed from her job and if she should be barred from public office in the future.

For Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

Yesterday, Governor Andy Beshear also said the impeachment of Judge Goodman could set a bad precedent.

We'll discuss this more in our inside Kentucky politics segment.

That's coming up in just a few minutes.

Now, in a different legal matter, a judge has found former Kentucky governor Republican Matt Bevin in contempt of court.

Earlier this week, we told you a family court judge gave Bevin and his ex-wife, Glenna, 48 hours to turn over financial documents regarding their divorce, according to the Kentucky Lantern.

Today, the judge said Matt Bevin has failed to comply.

The penalty ranges from a fine to 800 180 days in jail.

The Bevans were ordered to turn over the documents because their adopted son, Jonah is seeking child support.

He claims his parents abandoned him at an abusive reform school in Jamaica.

A Leitchfield Republican says cannabis infused beverages should have the same regulations as alcohol.

A bill passed out of the Senate today would make that a reality, and young adults in Kentucky are one step closer to carrying concealed weapons.

Our Emily Sisk explains the happenings from today's Senate chambers.

>> Senate Bill 233 looks to adjust the standards for cannabis infused beverages, getting them more on par with alcoholic beverage regulations.

One update is that open containers of cannabis drinks will not be allowed in motor vehicles.

>> It's alarming to me that driving with an open container of cannabis infused beverages is still legal in Kentucky, so we close this dangerous loophole.

It's critical that Kentucky motorists are protected, and that law enforcement officers have a clear statutory authority to address impaired or unsafe driving condition.

>> The bill also says that cannabis infused drinks can be sold at places that already hold liquor licenses, like bars, restaurants and more.

The drinks could also be sold at festivals and fairs where alcohol sales are already permitted, and Owensboro Republican was critical of not only the legislation but the cannabis beverage industry.

>> I'm against THC.

You can drink wine, you can drink beer, you can drink energy drinks.

You'll probably be okay the next day.

But if you drink or ingest any type of THC, and then you get drug tested at your job, you could be terminated.

If you have THC.

THC doesn't go away like these other products.

It stays in your system.

>> Bill sponsor Stephen Meredith said he wants to support the hemp industry as it can be lucrative for Kentucky farmers.

The legislation passed out of the Senate chambers on a 25 to 11 vote.

The floor also heard House Bill 312, which would allow 18 to 20 year olds to conceal carry.

Currently, open carry laws are already in effect for the age group, Senator Aaron Reed said.

This bill expands Second Amendment rights to those young adults.

>> At 18, you can join the military and carry a weapon in defense of this nation.

This bill allows that same adult to carry responsibly here at home with training and accountability.

>> The legislation requires concealed carry gun owners to go through a background check and training.

Still, the minority caucus chair said 18 to 20 year olds are not responsible enough to have concealed weapons.

>> This is a bill that puts us in danger at a time in which we're moving in the right direction to reduce violent crime and give an immature 18 and 19 year olds the right to carry hidden guns outside our awareness, where they can harm people at any time.

>> Despite that objection, HB 312 passed on a 30 to 7 vote.

It now heads to the governor's desk for Kentucky edition.

I'm Emily Sisk.

>> Thank you.

Emily.

Another legislative news, a bill that would shield pesticide manufacturers from certain lawsuits is now headed to the governor's desk after clearing the Senate on Thursday.

More in our look back at legislative news we've not yet reported from earlier in the week, the.

We call PostScript Senate Bill 199 would Barr Kentuckians from suing pesticide makers for failing to warn about health risks if the product carries an EPA approved label and is used in agriculture.

During a House floor debate on the bill on Wednesday, supporters argued the measure will help prevent what they call frivolous lawsuits that drive up costs for farmers.

They noted the bill does not protect companies that knowingly conceal or misrepresent health risks.

Opponents countered that while lawsuits may still be possible in those cases, the bill makes it significantly harder for Kentuckians to prove a product caused harm.

>> I'm going to use a word here that's been thrown around a whole lot, Mr.

Speaker, and that's immunity.

And this does not give immunity to these companies.

In fact, we can claw back a failure to warn claim if a smoking gun is discovered and it expressly preserves every other cause of action.

You know, we're not we're not giving anyone immunity here.

We're just saying we're going to follow the label to the letter of the law.

>> You can't prove that they're hiding the truth, that this law slams the door shut before you even allowed to look behind it.

It's a catch 22 designed by corporate lobbyists that you can sue them if you have proof, but it makes it impossible or illegal to find that proof.

>> The Senate awarded the measure final passage yesterday on a 24 to 11 vote.

If Governor Beshear vetoes the bill, it heads back to the General Assembly, where the Republican supermajority has the votes to overturn the veto.

The Clean Slate Kentucky act proposes automatic expungement for eligible misdemeanors and felony convictions.

Advocates say the bill will change lives and boost the economy, but opponents say it's taking authority out of the hands of judges.

Our Mackenzie Spink brings us the debate on Senate Bill 290.

>> Brittany Bogart has been involved with the justice system since she was a child.

Now she's a city council member, the first formerly justice involved elected official in the state.

She says getting her record expunged changed her life.

>> It allowed me to work to go back to school, to provide for my children and to serve my community.

Since then, I've helped more than 400 people in Western Kentucky clear their records.

And I can tell you the biggest barrier isn't willingness to change.

It's the system.

>> Senate Bill 290 would allow a person's criminal record to be cleared without a formal court petition.

If they have been crime free for at least five years.

The bill only applies to low level misdemeanors and class D felonies.

Supporters say automatic expungement would be a workforce booster.

>> We find that with expungement, it actually we see a 10% increase in their earnings or 10% increase in their workforce participation and an earnings increase on average of about $6,000.

We looked at the data and saw that about 1.1 million adults in Kentucky have some kind of record, and if even only 10% of those were to get their eligible for clean slate and to have their record expunged, that's nearly 220 million in increased wages and the associated tax revenue to go along with it.

>> Opponents of the bill say the current expungement system, which requires a petition and court appearance, keeps offenders accountable and gives judges the ability to assess what's right for the community.

>> It does give accountability to defendants to basically say, if you want to have your record expunged, you do have to go in front of a court.

You do have to let the judge who signed the order of conviction, who signed the order of judgment, the right to decide whether in fact she wants she or he wants to put their signature on an expungement.

So what it does is it bypasses me entirely.

It gives me no discretion whatsoever.

It's making me sign my name without having the ability to decide whether I think it's appropriate for the community.

The danger to the community is completely wiped away.

>> Senate Bill 290 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but several lawmakers who voted for the bill agreed that the issue of judges signing a document that they don't agree with should be addressed.

Republican Senator Danny Carroll was the only no vote on the measure, saying he's concerned with victims and repeat offenders.

>> It seems that all the conversations in Frankfurt these days are about making offenders whole, and I don't hear a whole lot about victims anymore.

I agree with one, two, maybe three chances, and I think people are giving those chances through the court system time and time again.

But the process is in place where the judges do have the discretion, and I struggle with the automatic aspect of this.

>> If passed, Senate Bill 290 would not go into effect until 2032 to give time to the administrative office of the courts to adjust to an electronic filing system being set up in other pieces of legislation.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Thank you.

Mackenzie.

Now, there is news tonight in the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, federal prosecutors have asked a judge to dismiss the charges against two police officers involved in her shooting death in March of 2020.

Former Detective Joshua James and former Sergeant Kyle Meany were originally charged with felonies for falsifying a warrant that led police to raid Taylor's apartment.

The raid that led to her shooting death by police judges have already reduced the felony charges to misdemeanors, saying there wasn't a direct link between the false information and Taylor's death.

When police raided Taylor's apartment, her boyfriend saying he didn't know they were police officers fired shots.

Police then returned fire, killing Taylor.

[MUSIC] Time now to go inside.

Kentucky politics, and particularly inside Frankfort.

It has been a busy week in Frankfort, and we have two of our favorite political pundits to break it all down for us, or as much as we possibly can.

We've got Bob Babich, who's in the studio with me, and Trey Grayson, who is joining us remotely.

Thank you both for being with us.

Let's start with some news today.

The impeachment articles of impeachment were filed and approved by the Kentucky House today.

Trey Grayson, this was a very interesting discussion and an interesting development.

Now, this goes to the Senate for a trial of Circuit Judge Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman, who was impeached.

Tell us about this and why it matters and why it's happening now.

>> Judge Goodman was accused.

There were five different counts, but the main one is that she was showing a disregard for precedent and law.

And what was interesting during the proceedings, the Commonwealth attorney in Fayette County testified essentially against her, which was a really, you know, kind of a surprising development and also showed maybe the depth of the severity of some of the allegations.

So the vote was all Republicans plus one Democrat and voting yes.

And then all the Democrats plus one Republican voting no.

As the chairman, Danny Elliott of the House Judiciary Committee chair, voted with the Democrats.

And then Adam War, Democrat, voted with the Republicans to impeach.

>> And so it should be said that and we heard this from Democrats and even from Representative Elliott, Bob, that people were saying this wasn't a crime, that there was no misdemeanor, that even though you may disagree with Judge Goodman on her ruling, she did not commit a crime.

And so this is unprecedented.

And we heard many objections say that this could lay some precedent for future for judges now to be concerned in all 120 counties about their rulings and the repercussions of them.

>> Were you summed it up perfectly.

It was very historic, very unusual to watch this.

Every word was carefully thought through and carefully measured.

It was a very dignified conversation that the House had for some period of time.

Frequently it was mentioned she's had 70,000 cases.

That's a tremendous load of legal decision making.

But it comes down to these several cases where, as they put it, here's the law and here's what she did.

Those seem to be the facts.

And the facts are concerning enough that this went heavily against her.

It continues.

And you're right, we could see more of these as other local folks around the state find an issue in the judicial process.

But to have the chief prosecutor against a longtime circuit judge is most unusual.

The dynamics are going to be memorable.

>> Yeah.

Who'd been elected six times, right.

So is this a reversal of the will of the people?

I'd ask you that, Trey Grayson, and how do you view it as an attorney?

>> Well, the Constitution sets forth this power.

I think one question will probably need to ask ourselves is, is is it too easy to impeach someone or even just to start the process?

Because this, this process was started by a petition by one person, a former state representative, Killian Timoney.

And if it really is that easy to make an allegation, we're going to see a lot more of this.

And probably in situations that this one, as Bob said, there are some facts and there's some, you know, seems pretty clear that she disregarded some rulings.

But whether that rose to the level of impeachment, that was the that was the threshold issue.

But is it too easy to do this?

And, you know, it was also whenever there is this impeachment, I mean, that's an extraordinary power.

And it does, as you say, Renee.

It does invalidate the will of the voters.

But constitutions are state constitutions.

The federal Constitution puts these kinds of measures in to provide some accountability in extreme acts.

And so the House has decided this fact pattern is an extreme act, and the Senate will decide if it's worthy of removal from office.

>> So let's make a pivot and talk about the budget.

At the time we even recorded this conversation, we believe that the budget conferees, Bob Babbage were meeting, and they were being told what they disagreed on, and then that sets the stage for them to start their negotiations.

Where are they?

Where are the major clashes on the budget bill?

Is it the budget bill alone?

That's the major clash.

>> To frame it up, we have about $800 million, $801 million that the legislature has said they will dedicate to one time expenditures.

And if the number is believable, and it certainly sounds like it could be $8 billion of request, ten times more requests than we have money available, and we still have a very substantial surplus.

And to the legislature's credit and the executive's credit and everyone's credit, we're in good shape financially compared to almost every other state.

But hard decisions have to be made now, and there will be quite the back and forth, many, many of these one time moves are substantial, impactful, and very meaningful for the legislature to have to argue that out and work that out one at a time in a closed room is a challenge for them.

But that's what the key leaders get to do at the end of every session.

And as we go into these final days, just a little over a week or more of business before the ten day break and then the veto part, this will matter greatly.

There's been a tremendous amount of effort to encourage legislators on these different things.

We've all been a part of it, and many Kentuckians have been to a lot of grassroots support for the one time expenditures, right.

>> And they have to be non-recurring expenses, right?

Right.

You can't keep coming back to that.

Well, real quickly, before we end our conversation, we did learn some very tragic news this week regarding the spouse of House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy.

And I will let you try Grayson just for a moment to express your thoughts about this, this tragedy.

>> Yeah.

So, so Wednesday, we noticed if you were watching the session that the majority leader, Steven Rudy, was not running the floor like normal.

And some of us were wondering what was up.

And what had happened is his wife had tragically passed away.

They'd been married about 20 years.

They have a 16 year old daughter.

In fact, many of us remember last year where her 15 year old present birthday present was to get a learner's permit at 15 by changing that law.

So she tragically passed away Thursday or Wednesday morning.

The the chambers are not going to meet on Monday.

That's when the funeral is taking place.

So members can go down and pay their respects.

It is a real tragedy that customer over the week, at the end of the week, Suzanne Miles played pinch hit for Rudy for the last couple of days and, you know, pinched for a little bit longer.

It's a tough time.

We should keep the Rudy family in our in our thoughts and prayers.

It's just a it's just a terrible situation.

>> Bob, your.

>> Thoughts for all the drama and Frankfort and the clash of ideas of the tense votes and other decision making when something like this happens, it was, as one of our colleagues called it, a gut punch.

It was a shock, the circumstances, a shock.

And really Frankfort is a a small community.

When you look at those involved, close in to government.

So there was quite the the gathering of hearts and minds for the Rudy family.

He is a very prominent, very popular member.

This is beyond belief and we're still coping with it and will for some time, I'm sure, as will many others.

>> And our thoughts, of course, are with the Rudy family and the colleagues in the Kentucky General Assembly.

Thank you, Trey Grayson.

Thank you, Bob Babich, as always.

[MUSIC] Plenty of basketball this weekend with Kentucky and Louisville both winning in round one of the NCAA tournament.

But if sports isn't your thing, we have a raft of other options for things to do this weekend for you to think about, and even next week.

Our Toby Gibbs tells us more in this.

Look at what's happening around the Commonwealth.

>> A healthy dose of curiosity is on the schedule this weekend at the Kentucky Science Center, as it hosts health and wellness days.

It's an opportunity to explore how the body and brain work, meet local health and science experts, take part in interactive activities and learn about everything from how we think and feel to how our bodies move and function.

The event happens Saturday.

Madisonville is the place for fans of fantasy fandom and a little friendly competition this weekend.

As Madon comes to town, the one day convention brings together anime fans, comic and card collectors, gamers, artists and creators, and features cosplay, gaming, and activities designed to connect fans with others who share their interests.

Things are taking a cold blooded turn at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park this weekend, as it presents lifestyles of the Sleek and scaly, a live animal program exploring the fascinating world of reptiles, learn how reptiles adapt to their environments and why they play an important role in the ecosystem.

The program features several species, from young alligators to large pythons.

A country music legend and his classic hits will be in the spotlight at the Mountain Arts Center as it hosts the More Life tour starring Randy Travis.

The show features Travis's original band performing many of his iconic songs, including, On The Other Hand, Forever and Ever, Amen and Three Wooden Crosses with singer James Dupree on vocals.

Travis himself will also make a special appearance during the show, connecting with fans 30 years later and the international phenomenon Riverdance is not missing a step as it celebrates its 30th anniversary with performances at the Kentucky Performing Arts Center next Tuesday through Thursday.

The production blends its signature Irish dance and music with updated choreography, costumes and visuals performed by a new generation of dancers.

Inspired by the original show.

The Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is giving stargazers the chance to take a closer look at our constant celestial companion, the moon with the Essential Moon.

The event features a presentation by a NASA Solar System ambassador discussing the moon's history and significance, followed by telescope viewing and a laser guided tour of the night sky with Bernheim Volunteer naturalists.

[MUSIC] The presentation takes place next Wednesday.

From classic Broadway to modern hits, musical theater takes center stage in Columbia as Lindsey Wilson University presents a grand Night for singing, the showcase of musical theater favorites spanning more than 80 years, includes selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein classics like Oklahoma and South Pacific, along with songs from more recent productions including Rent and Wicked.

And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.

[MUSIC] I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you so much, Toby Gibbs.

Now stay with KET coming on.

Kentucky is coming on at 8:00 eastern, seven central Bill Bryant and a panel of Kentucky reporters discuss the big news of the week that's coming up at 8:00 eastern, seven central right here on KET.

And thank you for being with us all week long here on Kentucky edition.

We hope to see you Monday night at 630 eastern, 530 central, where we inform, connect and inspire.

Have a great weekend to come and we'll see you Monday night.

Take good care.