Ex-prosecutor Ronnie Goldy convicted by Kentucky Senate in historic impeachment trial
FRANKFORT, Ky. — After the first impeachment trial on the floor of the Kentucky Senate in 135 years, former state prosecutor Ronnie Goldy Jr. was convicted Thursday on three articles of impeachment, barring him from holding elected office in the state.
The vote to convict Goldy was unanimous on all three articles, as was the vote to sustain the judgment that Goldy should be barred from holding a future office — with the trial and vote taking less than 30 minutes.
The House voted 97-0 last month to impeach Goldy, with his conviction requiring the vote of two-thirds of senators present.
Goldy has been embroiled in scandal since July, when The Courier Journal first reported on hundreds of Facebook messages he exchanged with a female defendant trading court favors for nude images of her. The woman later testified the messages were authentic and that she and Goldy had sex.
In a brief interview in July, Goldy, who was first elected in 2012, denied he did favors for the woman but declined to offer any explanation for the messages.
The only defense he offered subsequently was that he never mentioned the word "nude" in connection with photographs and videos he requested from her.
Goldy failed to appear last week at a hearing before the Senate impeachment panel.
Louisville attorney Timothy Denison, who has represented Goldy, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Experts told The Courier Journal that the exchanges were clearly improper.
“Even a fifth-grader would know this is inappropriate and doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Boston College law professor R. Michael Cassidy, the author of “Prosecutorial Ethics,” a leading work on the topic.
The Facebook messages emerged in an unrelated criminal case.
Goldy's downfall was swift.
The Kentucky Supreme Court suspended him from practice for conduct that could endanger the public. The Kentucky Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys expelled him. And in February, Goldy resigned from office in a bid to avoid impeachment.
But the House and Senate proceeded with impeachment proceedings to ensure he could never hold another public office.
The first article of impeachment is based upon the Supreme Court's suspension of his license, noting Goldy's "inability to provide legal services" to the citizens of his judicial district.
The second article was for his "inappropriate communications and actions," which amounted to "a violation of public trust."
The third article was for Goldy requesting and receiving "inappropriate personal information" from the defendant "as quid pro quo for actions he took in his official position" as commonwealth's attorney.
The Senate sustained all three by identical 34-0 votes.
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Reach Andrew Wolfson at awolfson@courier-journal.com.