Following roughly two hours of deliberations on Tuesday afternoon, the Senate voted 32-1 to acquit Justice Beth Walker in her impeachment trial. Senator Stephen Baldwin (D-Greenbrier), was the lone vote to impeach Walker.
After the vote, the Senate recessed for 15 minutes to consider a resolution, before returning to adopt Senate Resolution 205 . The resolution publicly reprimands Walker.
Earlier Tuesday, Mike McKown, the former state budget director who now works in the state auditor’s office, was the final witness to testify in the trial. McKown described to lawmakers how flat the state budget was over the years in question, as the Supreme Court continued to spend freely.
Delegate John Shott then gave his closing statement on behalf of the House Managers. He argued that the Supreme Court was infected with a sense of entitlement and that Walker wasted no time joining the party. He again went over the taxpayer funded lunches, the hired opinion at a cost of $10,000, and the $130,000 office renovation.
Walker’s attorrney Mike Hissam argued that Walker, as a new member of the court, did her best to right the ship and change the culture of entitlement.
The Senate is adjourned until Oct. 15 at 9 a.m.
