Joy Goodyear, 50, has spent nearly 25 years working as an attorney in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office for Orange and Osceola Counties. Now, she’s looking to transition to a new role within the justice system she’s admired since high school — as a judge.

Goodyear is running against fellow attorney LaShawnda K. Jackson for an open seat on the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, Group 5, in the Aug. 20 primary. Early voting takes place Aug. 5-18, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Aug. 8. Return it to the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. Aug. 20.

Goodyear told VoxPopuli in an interview that she aims to be a compassionate and empathetic judge.

“What I'm really going to focus on is making people feel comfortable in front of me, trying to make them understand that I'm there to hear the issues,” she said. “I may not be able to rule in their favor, but at least I can explain to them why I ruled the way I did, and they will understand that they got their day in court.”

Consequential career day

Even today, nearly 31 years later, Goodyear still vividly recalls a career day in high school with the New Port Richey public defender’s office when she watched an assistant public defender help those waiting at the courthouse who, she recalls, looked “terrified.”

Now as an assistant public defender herself, Goodyear strives to offer similar aid to those who may struggle with fear or stress that can impede their ability to express themselves accurately in court. She said often takes “copious notes” when people give her information outside of the courtroom that they want to make sure to bring to the judge, but once inside may lose their composure, leaving her to use those notes to help speak for them.

“I feel that when people come to court, they're scared and they're intimidated,” Goodyear said. “And when people are scared and intimidated, they often can't speak well or clearly. It's some of the most important things that's going to happen in their life, it's important that they be able to articulate what is going on, what the issues are, and what their opinions are.”

Raised in New Port Richey by a single mother with her sister Cherie Hammond, Goodyear was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated from Stetson University in 1995 and Stetson College of Law in 1998, during which she interned with the Public Defender’s Office and the Legal Aid Clinic in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

While interning, she earned herself the Paul Barnard Award for Clinic Excellence which is awarded to “honor graduating students for their performance in representing indigent clients while enrolled in the Public Defender Clinic,” according to the Stetson College of Law website.

Goodyear's mom worked three jobs at times to support her growing up, and Goodyear was 15 when she started her first job, working at McDonald’s. She worked all through high school, college and law school. Goodyear said that experience brings perspective that not all jurists have.

“I've practiced in front of many different judges who seem like, through no fault of their own, they've grown up and kept the same society all the way through,” Goodyear said. “They've never really faced some of the problems that so many of our citizens face. My beginnings were very humble … But obviously the problems that a lot of people in our community face go way deeper than anything that even I experienced.”

Not only have personal experiences helped shape her professional approach to potentially serving as a judge, Goodyear said her time as an assistant public defender has given her the opportunity to deepen that understanding.

“I'll be able to use that [perspective] and understand that the people in front of me come from different walks of life and have different experiences,” Goodyear said. “Those experiences all play into what happened to them, and maybe even to what some of the solutions could be.”

Legal troubles

Goodyear, who moved to Orlando in 2000 with her husband Jonathan, has had some of her own legal issues. In 2018, a federal tax lien was levied against her Orlando home for $80,993.45. That lien, which she said was related to her husband's company going out of business, was satisfied in 2021. Two liens were also levied in 2010 and 2014 against a second Orlando home she and her husband use as a rental property for nonpayment of homeowners association dues. They were eventually satisfied with back payments made to the management company of $3,038.70.

Along with the Catholic Diocese, Goodyear was sued for negligence in 2020 in her capacity as a volunteer track coach at Holy Family Catholic School, when a middle school student broke his leg after running into a bench during track practice. 

"Luckily, it was covered by insurance and settled out of court," she said.

Confidence in the system

Though Goodyear steadfastly believes that judges do have to follow the law “as it’s written,” when it comes to sentencing she feels there are “avenues there for creativity to come up with other solutions."

“The focus for me would be on the cases where I can make a difference, the cases where there are no minimums, and we feel that we can get involved,” Goodyear said. “We can use some of those community resources and really do a lot of research into what’s out there in the community and how we can use that to hit some of those underlying issues people are facing.”

She recognizes that people have “lost a lot of confidence in the judicial system.”

“They watch the news and they hear stuff and they think that it has been politicized. In my experience, it really hasn't,” she said.

Goodyear noted that she’s spoken with trial judges who have told her that although they wish something was not the law, they must still follow it and that they “do their job,” something she wants voters to know.

“I think it's important to let people know that no matter who is on that bench, there's a duty there for them to follow the law,” Goodyear said. “And if they are not following the law, they could be reprimanded and eventually removed.”

One major goal for Goodyear is to reduce the judicial caseload.

“That controls everything,” Goodyear said. “If you have too many cases, you can't give the attention that each case deserves. When they're way too high, it's just too difficult.”

Although she knows addressing the issue would require long hours of work, Goodyear said the position also requires accountability for helping to solve issues such as the caseload amount within the Ninth Circuit which she says has “huge dockets” with “a lot of delays.”

“As a judge, you need to be able to get into each case and have a good administrative staff where you know exactly what’s wrong,” she said. “What can you do from the judicial office to try to help the parties get that case moving forward? That’s something I would really focus on.”

She said the issue extends beyond those who work for the courts and that she’s been told how it might impact someone’s life beyond just reaching a verdict.

“I had someone talk to me last week who said I’ve had a divorce case going on for three years, and it's dragging on, and I have all these financial problems because of it," Goodyear said. “That's something that we really need to get a hold of.”

With the primary election fast approaching, Goodyear said she wants readers to know that regardless of party affiliation every citizen can vote on all judicial races in August, which she says has the greatest impact on people, “they just don’t realize it.”

“We need them to vote,” Goodyear said. “We need them to voice their opinion, and we need them to pick good judges. These are the people that you or a loved one may end up in front of, and when you end up in front of them, it's going to be to decide something that's incredibly important.”