Reports of corruption, lavish overspending, and abuses of authority on the part of West Virginia’s four sitting Supreme Court justices have dominated area headlines in recent months — and state lawmakers have finally decided to do something about it.
All four of West Virginia’s Supreme Court justices were impeached by a vote in the state House of Delegates on Monday.
Overstepping their bounds
According to The Hill, all four justices were impeached for abusing their authority. Two of them were also impeached for overspending taxpayer money on office renovations, and one was also impeached for using state-owned equipment and vehicles for personal activities.
Justice Allen Loughry was impeached on eight separate counts that included spending more than $363,000 on office renovations, as well as for transferring a $42,000 antique desk and state-owned computers to his home. He was also charged with using state-owned vehicles for personal use and for lying to members of the House Finance Committee about the issues.
Aside from being impeached from the court, Loughry faces other trouble in the form of a federal indictment on multiple felony counts that include mail and wire fraud, lying to federal investigators, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, among others, according to NBC News.
Justice Robin Davis was impeached for her abuse of authority and for spending more than $500,000 on office renovations.
More scandal
Chief Justice Margaret Workman and Justice Beth Workman were let off the hook for the cost of their own office renovations — $111,000 and $131,000, respectively — but were nevertheless impeached for abuse of authority.
At issue for Workman was her signing off on allowing senior status judges to receive higher wages than were allowed by state law.
A former justice who would have been the fifth sitting justice — and likely would have been impeached along with the others — was Menis Ketchum, who resigned from the bench in disgrace in July and has since pleaded guilty to one count of federal wire fraud.
The impeachment process will now move to the state Senate for a trial with Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell specially sworn in to serve as chief justice temporarily. The trial should begin in September, though a clear timeline for the procedure has yet to be set.
[show_poll poll_id=720]
Should the four justices ultimately be found guilty and removed from office by the state Senate, West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice will be allowed to appoint justices to replace them who would serve until at least 2020, at which point new elections would be held. Had the justices been impeached prior to August 14, their seats would have been placed on this year’s ballot.
These four state supreme court justices are all alleged to have abused the authority vested in them and wasted taxpayer money on frivolous and personal expenses — and evidently, corruption like that simply won’t be tolerated in West Virginia.
1,009 Responses
There is visibly a lot to realize about this. I think you made certain good points in features also.
What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable know-how regarding unexpected emotions.|
I quite like reading through a post that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for permitting me to comment!
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up plus the rest of the site is really good.|
I want to to thank you for this fantastic read!! I definitely loved every bit of it. I’ve got you bookmarked to look at new things you post…
My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on several websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!|
I really like what you guys are usually up too. This type of clever work and reporting! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve you guys to blogroll.|
Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a weblog web site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I had been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast offered vibrant transparent idea|
Amazing things here. I’m very satisfied to look your article. Thanks a lot and I am taking a look forward to touch you. Will you please drop me a mail?|
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Kudos!
319058 62708Id should speak to you here. Which is not some thing I do! I quite like reading a post which will make folks believe. Also, a lot of thanks permitting me to comment! 14230
Wow! Thank you! I constantly needed to write on my site something like that. Can I take a fragment of your post to my site?
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It’s the little changes which will make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. Nevertheless think about if you added some great visuals or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and videos, this website could certainly be one of the very best in its niche. Terrific blog!|
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article! It’s the little changes that will make the largest changes. Thanks for sharing!
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t discuss such topics. To the next! Many thanks!!
I want to to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post…
You’re so awesome! I do not believe I’ve truly read anything like that before. So nice to find somebody with some unique thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality!|
Undeniably imagine that that you said. Your favourite reason seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to understand of. I say to you, I definitely get irked even as people consider concerns that they plainly don’t realize about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest and outlined out the entire thing with no need side-effects , folks could take a signal. Will probably be again to get more. Thanks|
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The style and design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Cheers|
I am really impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays..
The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it does not disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I truly thought you would probably have something helpful to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you could possibly fix if you weren’t too busy searching for attention.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My blog site is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Appreciate it!|
Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to find anyone with some authentic thoughts on this subject. realy thanks for beginning this up. this web site is something that’s wanted on the internet, someone with slightly originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the web!
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this site. I am hoping to view the same high-grade content from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own, personal website now 😉
What’s up Dear, are you genuinely visiting this web site on a regular basis, if so afterward you will without doubt obtain nice experience.|
Wow! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!
Your style is unique compared to other folks I have read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this web site.
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!|
I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your website. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Excellent work!
Aw, this was a really good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to create a great article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get anything done.
I need to to thank you for this great read!! I certainly loved every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked to look at new things you post…
Wow, fantastic weblog layout! How long have you ever been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The entire glance of your site is excellent, let alone the content!
It’s nearly impossible to find knowledgeable people for this subject, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Hi friends, its wonderful post concerning educationand entirely defined, keep it up all the time.|
Very descriptive article, I enjoyed that bit. Will there be a part 2?|
This page truly has all the info I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
I quite like reading through an article that can make men and women think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment!
Excellent site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Good article. I absolutely love this website. Thanks!