MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer believes articles of impeachment filed against Supreme Court Justices Margaret Workman and Beth Walker should be dismissed the pending proceedings focused on suspended Justice Alan Loughry.
Attorneys for Justice Walker filed a motion to dismiss Walker from the single article naming her, while Justice Workman’s lawyers plan to file at least a dozen different motions to dismiss impeachment proceedings against her. Also, Workman’s lawyers are requesting a trial date no sooner than Oct. 15, so they have time to mount a proper defense.
“That is where we should have started in my opinion and this was just an overreach or a sweep, or as others have said before me, a coup,” Fleischauer stated on WAJR’s Morgantown AM.
One of the articles that names Workman is an all-encompassing maladministration charge, saying the justices failed to hold each other accountable.
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.
The other two articles that name Workman are somewhat redundant. They allege she signed off on a policy skirting state law by allowing senior status judges to exceed a cap on how much money they can make each year when they serve in open courtrooms around the state.
One of those two articles specifically names Workman. In the other, Workman and Davis are named together.
Fleischauer explained why proceedings against Workman and Walker should not continue.
“Justice Workman had the lowest spending of all and given the face the supreme court had absolute power over their budget,” Fleischauer said.
Fleischauer is hopeful the state senate will decide against continuing with impeachment proceedings against Justice Robin Davis, who stepped down from the court last month.
“If they really want to go after her, that would be very different from how A. James Manchin was treated and Menis Ketchum was treated, after all, he pleaded to felony. I hope that’s not the case, that it’s just vengeance.”
State Senators are due back in Charleston for pre-trial hearings on Tuesday.