By Brad McElhinny in News | August 07, 2018 at 7:53PM
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Making West Virginia political history, the House Judiciary Committee has voted in favor of impeachment articles for all four remaining members of the state Supreme Court.

Only former Justice Menis Ketchum was spared because he announced his resignation the day before impeachment proceedings were set to begin.

“It’s really a sad day for the state, and nobody should be celebrating,” House Judiciary Chairman John Shott, R-Mercer, said Tuesday at the end of a nine-hour day of impeachment consideration.

“I think the overwhelming evidence we saw was there was an atmosphere of entitlement and cavalier disregard for the expenditure of taxpayer money. It’s unfortunate the entire court seems to be infected by that atmosphere. We felt like we had no choice but to recommend the impeachment for each justice.”

Impeachment of any kind is a rarity. The last West Virginia political figure to be impeached was Treasurer A. James Manchin, who resigned before being tried in the Senate in 1989.

The actions taken by the House Judiciary Committee follow months of controversies, mostly focusing on spending decisions by the Supreme Court.

Now the full House of Delegates will convene at 10 a.m. Monday to weigh impeachment of justices Allen Loughry, Margaret Workman, Robin Davis and Beth Walker.

Any articles the full House approves would then go to the state Senate for trial.

If all four remaining justices wind up being removed from office, Gov. Jim Justice would appoint new members of the court, likely until 2020.

Justice commented during a separate press conference about the state budget: “It’s a black eye that we don’t need. I’m sure we’ll work our way through it.”

The House Judiciary Committee wound up approving 14 impeachment articles, rejecting two others.

One of the articles was a catch-all wrapping up almost every controversy the Supreme Court has faced over the past year.

That article accuses all four remaining justices of failing to establish policies about remodeling state offices, travel budgets, computers for home use and framing of personal items.

And the justices each face allegations that they spent thousands too much on the renovations of their own offices: $500,278.23 for Justice Davis, $363,013.43 for Justice Loughry, $130,654.55 for Justice Walker and $111,035.19 for Justice Workman.

Several more articles alleged the justices had signed off on a policy to circumvent state law by paying senior status judges as contractors, allowing them to make more than they were really allowed.

Some articles focused specifically on actions by Justice Loughry, who separately faces 23 federal charges.

The impeachment articles reflect Loughry’s decision to move an antique Cass Gilbert desk to his own home, his home use of state computer equipment, his private use of state vehicles, his use of public funds to frame personal mementos and his false statements while under oath to the House Finance Committee.

Two proposed articles were rejected.

One reflected Justice Walker’s use of outside counsel to write an opinion for the court, a $10,000 expense. Another was an allegation that Justice Workman had hiring preferences on the court for workers on her campaign.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee raised objections about some of the articles.

But beyond that, they raised concerns about the big picture.

“If we’re talking about overturning the entire court, that’s monumental,” said Delegate Barbara Fleischauer of Monongalia County, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

“It’s a huge thing to say the Legislature feels we can cause a change in the court that will result in all four members — one being elected with the resignation of Justice Ketchum and four new members being chosen by the governor instead of by the people. I just can’t go that far.”

Delegate Amy Summers, R-Taylor, said the actions of the justices left her with no choice.

“I do think the evidence is there, and I think my constituents have reached out to me with enough outrage — especially once the pictures came out and they saw the lavish spending and all the struggles we’ve been through the last few years as a state, trying to fund corrections, trying to give the teachers a pay raise,” Summers said

“All these things we’ve been struggling to do, and they see that — that is a slap in their face, and it shows very poor judgment.”

The Supreme Court on Monday night sent a letter saying an advisory opinion about working lunches by the state Ethics Commission does not apply to the judicial branch.

The court reportedly spent $42,314.76 over five years on working lunches, a subject of earlier impeachment testimony.

Shott said the letter from the Supreme Court provided an example of the court’s collective mindset.

“It’s absolutely incredible to me, and just basically reinforces the perception that the court feels they’re not a co-equal branch, they’re a superior branch and not subject to the same rules the rest of us are,” Shott said. “I was just flabbergasted to get that.”

The next historic step in West Virginia’s political drama continues Monday.

Shott said he believes the evidence is generally solid going into the next phases.

“We believe the evidence is pretty compelling on most of the charges. There are some areas that we probably need to fortify somewhat, and we’ll be doing some work on the issues that are raised today. But for the most part these are overwhelmingly obvious.”

Link

quote:

The Supreme Court on Monday night sent a letter saying an advisory opinion about working lunches by the state Ethics Commission does not apply to the judicial branch.

Lady justice is blind.

Why should taxpayer's money feel so good in their pockets???? Hang 'em high!!!

Here is the initial investigation by Kennie Bass of WCHS-TV that exposed this corruption.
It should be noted that Justice Ketchum (who lives in my town) retired the day before impeachment proceedings began, yet was charged and has accepted a plea deal to one federal count.
Chief Justice Loughry is currently facing 22 or 23 federal charges, per the indictment that came down last month.
The good stuff begins about 1:00 into the following video:



Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiz7Rl05IVQ

Get a rope.

Florida needs some cleansing too. Our 1st circuit court of appeals built a new in courthouse in Tallahassee a few years ago. Press labeled it the "Taj Mahal". The Chief Justice resigned in a scandal. Now he has joined my Country Club.

i think Ketchum takes full retirement & benefits by resigning. Thriving Sobs. I hope they get time, wish it would be state time, not federal.

“It’s a huge thing to say the Legislature feels we can cause a change in the court that will result in all four members — one being elected with the resignation of Justice Ketchum and four new members being chosen by the governor instead of by the people. I just can’t go that far.”

As I understand this, Barbara Fleischauer is willing to let some guilty judges remain on the bench because “I just can’t go that far.”

quote:

Originally posted by Icabod:
“It’s a huge thing to say the Legislature feels we can cause a change in the court that will result in all four members — one being elected with the resignation of Justice Ketchum and four new members being chosen by the governor instead of by the people. I just can’t go that far.”

As I understand this, Barbara Fleischauer is willing to let some guilty judges remain on the bench because “I just can’t go that far.”

The (D)s around here are espousing the notion that this is all a setup of sorts by the governor (who was a "D" and is now a "R"...kinda') and is now an opportunity to pack the court with justices of his own liking.

The truth is, this is unprecedented in West Virginia.