J. Dudley Goodlette (born May 18, 1948, in

Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the ...

) is an American attorney and politician who served as a Representative in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from 1999 to 2007. Following his departure from the Florida House of Representatives, Goodlette. served as the interim president of

Edison Community College Edison State Community College is a public community college in Piqua, Ohio. It was established as Ohio's first general and technical college in 1973. The college was named after Thomas Alva Edison. The college's main campus is located in Piq ...

(now Edison State College) from 2011–12, and serves as Chairman of the Naples Ethics Commission. In 2019, Goodlette was appointed as

Special master In the law of the United States, a special master is an official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the judge as to the dispositi ...

to hear and provide a recommendation on the proprietary of Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

's suspension of

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

Sheriff

Scott Israel Scott Israel is an American law enforcement officer in Florida, and the former Broward County Sheriff. Israel was chief of police in North Bay Village, Florida, from 2004 to 2008, during which time he was named Police Chief of the Year in Miam ...

. Goodlette found the suspension improper and recommended reinstatement, but his recommendation was rejected by the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

Biography

Goodlette moved to

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

, with his family in 1954. Goodlette served in the

West Point Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and received his bachelor's degree from

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

in 1970, and his Juris Doctor from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1972. He was in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

from 1970–85, where he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Goodlette served as a Representative in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

of the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

from 1998 to 2007. As a member of the House of Representatives, he was Chairman of the Rules and Calendar Council, and Chairman of the Policy Council. He was the interim president of

(now Edison State College) from 2011-12. Goodlette serves as Chairman of the Naples Ethics Commission. He is a lawyer with the law firm of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt. After Florida Governor

suspended Broward County Sheriff

in 2019, Israel appealed his removal to the Florida Senate, which in turn appointed Goodlette to serve as

special master In the law of the United States, a special master is an official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the judge as to the dispositi ...

to hear the testimony and evidence. After conducting a trial, Goodlette issued his 34-page report in September 2019, finding the removal was improper and recommending that Israel be reinstated. Despite his report and recommendation, however, the

held a special session on October 23, 2019, and voted 25–15 to uphold the suspension.

References

External links

Official Website of Goodlette
* University of Florida alumni Eastern Kentucky University alumni Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Hazard, Kentucky United States Military Academy alumni 1948 births Living people 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature {{Florida-FLRepresentative-Republican-stub