Senate committee recommends stay of impeachment proceedings for Judge Julie Muth Goodman pending Judicial Conduct Commission inquiry

A Senate hearing committee on April 15 recommended that further impeachment proceedings in the case involving Judge Julie Muth Goodman be stayed indefinitely while the Judicial Conduct Commission completes a related investigation.

The clerk read the committee’s report to the full Senate, saying the committee "recommends to the full senate the following: Number 1, that further proceedings in the matter of the impeachment of Judge Julie Muth Goodman be stayed indefinitely pending conclusion of an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Commission on issues raised by the articles of impeachment." The clerk added that the stay "should not be viewed as a full resolution of the matter, but is done in fairness to the defendant," and that it does not abrogate the Senate’s constitutional duties.

The committee’s recommendation places formal action on hold while the Judicial Conduct Commission examines the conduct alleged in the articles of impeachment. The full Senate received the report; the transcript record does not show a subsequent floor vote on adopting the committee’s recommendation during this session.

Next steps depend on the timing and findings of the Judicial Conduct Commission. The committee report, as read to the Senate, frames the stay as an interim procedural step rather than a determination on the substantive allegations in the articles of impeachment.