CHARLESTON — Delegates considering impeachment of one of more West Virginia Supreme Court justices examined the evidence by the numbers.
The House Judiciary Committee on Friday reviewed the court’s spending totals that fueled controversies over office remodeling, working lunches, professional framing and use of state vehicles.
The evidence, which took the form of documentation and invoices, stood in contrast to the more personal recent testimony of Supreme Court employees.
Delegates must translate what the numbers mean in terms of impeachment. Do they demonstrate an abuse of power? Do they amount to maladministration? Or are these expenses within the scope of working life as a Supreme Court justice?
Some of the biggest expenses were the cost of each justice’s office renovations over several years:
- Justice Brent Benjamin, $264,301.22.
- Justice Robin Davis, $500,278.23.
- Justice Menis Ketchum, $171,838.33.
- Justice Allen Loughry, $363,013.43.
- Justice Beth Walker, $130,654.55.
- Justice Margaret Workman, $111,035.19.
Justin Robinson of the Legislative Post Audits Division, who served as a witness, said Justice Davis did provide about $10,000 in personal reimbursement.
More testimony highlighted that the Supreme Court spent $114,788 on framing at the Art Store between 2009-2015.
And Delegates also heard about the court’s working lunches.
House Judiciary counsel John Hardison said the total cost of working lunches at the court for five years was $42,314.76.
Justices have received criticism for having regular working lunches, ordering from places like Charleston’s South Hills Market and Cafe and Soho’s.
The court contended the working lunches saved time. They would occur after oral arguments or during all-day administrative conferences.
The Judicial Investigation Commission last week concluded the working lunches that became routine for the court were meant to make the workday more efficient.
Delegates considering impeachment may take that conclusion into account, or it may not have any bearing at all.
Delegate Kelli Sobonya, R-Cabell, noted that the most expensive meal she saw on the report was a $277 meal at Soho’s.
Delegates also got into some of the finer details of Justice Loughry’s use of state vehicles for apparent personal travel.
Some evidence focused on a lawsuit filed in magistrate court in Tucker County in January 2014 against Loughry’s father, Allen Loughry Sr. The case was eventually dismissed.
Loughry is believed to have traveled in a state vehicle to meet with one of the county’s two magistrates. Some delegates questioned whether Loughry’s presence at a hearing and the meeting constituted exertion of his influence based on his judicial office.
