Lawmakers impeach 3 justices over spending
CHARLESTON, W.VA. » A West Virginia Supreme Court justice facing a 23-count federal indictment was impeached Monday along with two other justices for spending issues — part of an extraordinary move by lawmakers who are debating putting the entire court on trial in the Senate.
The state House of Delegates voted to impeach Justice Allen Loughry on two articles, sending them to the Senate.
Lawmakers approved articles against Loughry for spending $363,000 in renovations to his office and Justice Robin Davis for $500,000 in renovations. Loughry also was impeached in a separate article for taking home a $42,000 antique desk owned by the state.
Later, Chief Justice Margaret Workman and Davis were impeached for their roles in allowing senior status judges to be paid higher than allowed wages. Lawmakers say the overpayments violated state law and stopped when they were challenged by the Internal Revenue Service.
Minority Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee that approved the articles last week had tried to speed up the impeachment process in the hopes of beating an Aug. 14 deadline for arranging a special election in November if any justice is impeached. Instead, the committee took its time, even conducting a tour of the state Supreme Court offices earlier this month.
If the committee completes its work by the end of the day Monday, the special election can still be held. If not, Republican Gov. Jim Justice will be allowed to appoint new justices to replace any who are impeached — with no requirement that they be from the same party as the incumbent.
Democrats have accused Republicans of attempting to wrest the court away from voters, who elected the current justices in nonpartisan elections.
Barbara Evans Fleischauer of Monongalia County said Democrats agreed all along there was enough to recommend Loughry’s impeachment. But she said going after the other justices “was a power grab, was a takeover of the court and using the impeachment process to take over another branch of government.”