On Friday, February 24, the Judicial Nominating Commission, led by Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton, Jr., announced nominees to fill the vacant Court of Appeals judgeship that serves the 5^th Appellate District in Central Kentucky. The vacancy is in the district’s Division 1. The three nominees for the judgeship are Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Pamela R. Goodwine, Bourbon Circuit Court Judge Robert G. Johnson, and the state’s deputy public defender Damon Lloyd Preston of Georgetown. There are two Court of Appeals judgeships that serve the 5^th Appellate District. The seat for the district’s Division 1 became vacant after Justice Laurance B. VanMeter was elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky in November.