First Judge Faces Trial in West Virginia Mass Impeachment

The first trial to remove a justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is underway Oct. 1 in the state senate after lawmakers’ historic vote to impeach all four sitting high court judges.

The Republican-dominated West Virginia House voted Aug. 13 to impeach the justices on charges of lavish spending and misuse of taxpayer funds. One of those four faces criminal charges related to his conduct in office, and the fifth on the five-justice court resigned in July. But critics charge that the mass impeachment is a ploy by Republicans to control the state’s highest court.

Justice ...