After the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary recessed to address concerns regarding procedure for impeachment proceedings, legislative leaders have requested Gov. Jim Justice to call the Legislature into a special session to allow the House of Delegates to consider potential articles of impeachment against one or more members of the state Supreme Court.
Committee Co-Chair Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, said following the committee’s Monday morning meeting, a conference was held where lawmakers determined the best way to go was to request the governor to call the Legislature into a special session on Tuesday.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, and House Speaker Pro Tempore John Overington, R-Berkeley, later formally requested the governor to call the Legislature into a special session.
“We have met with the governor and the governor is agreeable to that,” Shott said.
Earlier Monday, committee members made various motions involving creating two subcommittees, establishing a timeline for meetings and decisions, and discussing procedure for voting on the motion to create the subcommittee.
The motion to establish the two subcommittees—one comprised of House Judiciary Committee members and one comprised of Senate Judiciary Committee members—was later withdrawn pending a call into a special session.
Members of the committee questioned whether the vote should be split with House members voting to create the House subcommittee and the Senate voting on its portion.
Shott mentioned concerns about the process.
“This is a serious situation,” Shott said. “it’s extremely important that we have bipartisan support from the get-go.”
If articles of impeachment are adopted by the House, it’s then sent to the Senate for an impeachment trial.
Shott said the committee is plowing new ground.
“We’ve had one impeachment proceeding in the history of the state,” Shott said. “There is not a lot of precedence on how to proceed.”
Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, mentioned the Aug. 14 deadline. This is the deadline to have a special election this November to fill any vacancy created.
The committee also heard presentations detailing the process and function of several agencies that investigate and discipline public officials and public employees — the Ethics Commission, the Legislative Auditor’s Office, the West Virginia Auditor’s office, Department of Health and Human Resources Medical Fraud Unit, West Virginia Attorney General’s office, Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Consolidated Retirement Board, Commission on Special Investigation, and the Judicial Investigation Commission.
