# The entire West Virginia Supreme Court has been impeached **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607 "2018-08-14T18:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/1 "2018-08-14T18:57:26Z")
This isn’t elections, and not really a pit story, so I guess I’ll put it here. The West Virginia legislature has voted to impeach every member of the state’s Supreme Court over financial fraud and misuse of tax money. > **[All of state's Supreme Court justices impeached over spending](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-west-virginia-s-supreme-court-justices-impeached-over-spending-n900461?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma)** > > Lawmakers approved an article they had abused their authority and failed to control office expenses, including $1 million in renovations to offices. I don’t know when the trials will begin. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/2 "2018-08-14T18:59:38Z")
[Thread here](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=856288) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/3 "2018-08-14T19:07:01Z")
The last item on the thread happened two months ago. The impeachment vote occurred today. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/4 "2018-08-14T19:15:40Z")
The last post to that thread was yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/5 "2018-08-14T19:23:09Z")
Ack. Somehow I missed the entire second page. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/6 "2018-08-14T19:25:20Z")
Order! Order in the court! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/7 "2018-08-14T22:50:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Republican Gov. Jim Justice will be allowed to appoint new justices to replace any who are impeached — with no requirement that they be from the same party as the incumbent. > > Democrats have accused Republicans of attempting to wrest the court away from voters, who elected the current justices in nonpartisan elections. Sounds like it’s another Republican move to gain/keep power contrary to the (possible) will of the people. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/8 "2018-08-15T02:43:52Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > Sounds like it’s another Republican move to gain/keep power contrary to the (possible) will of the people. Sometimes “the people” are a collective bunch of morons who wouldn’t know how to govern properly if their lives depended on it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/9 "2018-08-15T03:00:39Z")
Why are you being so harsh about Trump voters? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/10 "2018-08-15T04:32:08Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Sometimes “the people” are a collective bunch of morons who wouldn’t know how to govern properly if their lives depended on it. While I won’t argue that point, I have to ask: Do you believe that justifies one political party in perverting the system in order to stay in power, even though most voters don’t want them there? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/11 "2018-08-15T11:16:34Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Sometimes “the people” are a collective bunch of morons who wouldn’t know how to govern properly if their lives depended on it. _Tilts head in the direction of the Oval Office._ ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/12 "2018-08-15T20:25:05Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > While I won’t argue that point, I have to ask: Do you believe that justifies one political party in perverting the system in order to stay in power, even though most voters don’t want them there? No I don’t. At the same time, I don’t believe that the situation in WV qualifies as that. Just because something is seldom done doesn’t automatically mean that it shouldn’t be done. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/13 "2018-08-15T21:42:51Z")
Whether justified or not, this is certainly going to put this strategy into the minds of congressmen, State and Federal, across the country. Supreme Court justices in State and Federal government are going to start seeing Congressional investigators kicking their tires and asking for documents, and have to worry - in any government that has a single party majority - that they will be out of office if they don’t vote as they have been told to do. It may well be that the West Virginia judges did need to be removed, but that doesn’t change that the path will now be on everyone’s mind. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/14 "2018-08-15T21:56:14Z")
I find this story unsettling. There’s too many ways this tactic can be abused. There’s budgetry ways to limit excessive spending. It does sound like spending by the West Virginia Supreme Court was excessive. State audits and restrictions on budgetary expenditures could be put in place. Impeachment for expensive office renovations seems like a political move. That’s a clear infringement on the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/15 "2018-08-15T22:12:34Z")
Ah, here’s the root of the problem. They can fix this with an constitutional amendment on the ballot. Let voters curb the excessive spending. Taxpayers would love the chance to reduce wasteful government spending. > **[Impeachment of entire W.Va. Supreme Court called 'partisan witch hunt'](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/impeachment-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-draws-cry-partisan-witch-n900746)** > > The justices were impeached over extravagant spending decried on both sides of the aisle. But some Democrats suspect there's more to the story. > [@](#): > > But in West Virginia, unlike most U.S. states, the judiciary effectively controls its own budget, giving the justices wide latitude, said Patricia Proctor, the director of the Simon Perry Center for Constitutional Democracy at Marshall University in West Virginia. > > In other words, as “outrageous as some of the spending was, the [state] Constitution gives the justices the authority to do this,” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/16 "2018-08-15T22:35:30Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > No I don’t. At the same time, I don’t believe that the situation in WV qualifies as that. Just because something is seldom done doesn’t automatically mean that it shouldn’t be done. I think it might. Reading the article, one of the things I took away is the belief that things went down, in the way and timeline that they went down, in order to avoid a special election, where the new Justices would have been picked by those pesky, uninformed voters, and to allow for direct appointment by the Governor, who can ignore the party affiliations of the previous office holders and appoint all new Justices of his favored persuasion. Now, that’s just how I read it. Perhaps I’m all wet. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/17 "2018-08-16T16:46:22Z")
As the sages once said: > [@Blazing Saddles](#): > > You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/18 "2018-08-16T21:09:07Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > No I don’t. At the same time, I don’t believe that the situation in WV qualifies as that. Just because something is seldom done doesn’t automatically mean that it shouldn’t be done. Conversely, just because something shouldn’t be done doesn’t mean that it is seldom done. The tolerated existence of Republicans in positions of political power, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/19 "2018-08-16T23:55:52Z")
I think they have every right to impeach them for fiduciary malfeasance. The replacement process is a different story. That should go to the ballot box. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607/20 "2018-08-17T00:27:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Order! Order in the court! I’ll take a ham & cheese on rye. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-entire-west-virginia-supreme-court-has-been-impeached/819607.md?page=2)