The West Virginia Senate has set trial dates for the state’s four impeached supreme court justices. Beth Walker’s trial will take place on October 1, followed by Margaret Workman on October 15, Robin Davis on October 29, and Allen Loughry on November 12.
Last week, the Senate rejected several motions to reduce the number of trials. One motion would have removed the articles of impeachment against Davis on the grounds that she is retired. It was rejected, and sensibly so, given that Davis’s resignation after the impeachment vote was taken was a transparent electoral ploy. A closer call, in my estimation, was a resolution to simply censure Justices Workman and Walker, whose charges are considerably less worrisome than those of Loughry. The senate, however, rejected that resolution as out of order.
