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West Virginia House Votes To Impeach Supreme Court Justices
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
UPDATE (3:30 p.m.)
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) – West Virginia lawmakers have impeached a second state Supreme Court justice accused in a spending scandal.
The House of Delegates voted Monday to send an impeachment article against Justice Robin Davis to the state Senate for trial after earlier impeaching indicted Justice Allen Loughry. The charges against both were related to office renovations. Davis spent more than $500,000 on her office and Loughry spent more than $363,000 on his.
Republican Delegate Tom Fast of Fayette County says he’s seen the work done in Davis’ office, including track lighting on the floor.
He says the work was “over the top” and the impeachment article “is one of the more easy ones” for him to support.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s House of Delegates has impeached suspended Justice Allen Loughry over $363,000 in spending on his office renovations.
The 64-33 vote Monday sends the charge to the state Senate for a trial.
Loughry is under federal indictment and named in eight impeachment articles, including allegations he lied about taking home a $42,000 antique desk and a $32,000 suede leather couch. Other articles involve upgrades of the offices of Chief Justice Margaret Workman and justices Robin Davis and Beth Walker.
Some legislators said they didn’t support impeaching any justice for wasteful spending, only for articles pertaining to lying, cheating or stealing. But Republican Delegate John Shott of Mercer County asked whether there is public confidence in the court, and if not, “we need to take action to try to rebuild that trust.”
Several lawmakers noted that the Supreme Court has a separate budget and is currently allowed to spend as it sees fit. A proposed constitutional amendment this fall would bring the state courts’ budget partly under legislative control.