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Court Orders Magistrate Candidate Removed from Ballot
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The West Virginia Supreme Court has ordered that a Putnam County magistrate candidate be removed from the ballot based on his prior misdemeanor convictions.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the court ruled Tuesday that Troy Sexton is ineligible to serve as a magistrate for the county.
In a petition filed March 7, the Judicial Investigation Commission recommended that Sexton be taken out of the race.
The petition said state law requires that magistrates not be convicted of “any felony or any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.”
The JIC filing said Sexton has pleaded guilty to several charges, including falsely reporting an emergency incident and driving under the influence in 2014.
Sexton argued Tuesday that the offenses shouldn’t keep him from being allowed to run for magistrate. He doesn’t have an attorney.