Former Oklahoma District Judge James Goodpaster dead at 70

August 29, 2011

Oklahoma: Former Tulsa County District Judge James D. Goodpaster passed away from a heart attack at age 70. Goodpaster served the 12th Judicial District as a district judge from 1990 until his retirement in 2008. Goodpaster oversaw many important rulings including the 1998 case against former District Judge James Hogue Sr. and the 2002 conviction of Steven Ray Thacker which resulted in a death sentence. Goodpaster's career also involved a more interesting aspect of the court when in 1969 he officiated an indecent-exposure case for an exotic dancer known as the "Kansas City Cowgirl". Over the course of the trial the dancer offered to demonstrate the move that wound her up in court. Goodpaster later recalled losing his composure and "...laughing so hard I had to get up and leave the bench and walk out." Goodpaster is also remembered as a rural minded judge who according to Barry Epperson could always relate legal problems back to a "barren cow or broken fence, or chickens and eggs."