West Virginia Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman/courtesy photo

A majority of a substitute panel of the West Virginia Supreme Court, assembled to review allegations of improper spending on the part of its justices, has ruled that Chief Justice Margaret Workman cannot be impeached by state lawmakers.

Acting Chief Justice James A. Matish, a Circuit Court judge from Harrison County, and two other acting justices, Rudolph Murenksky II of McDowell County and Ronald Wilson of Brooke County, ruled on Oct. 11 that the Senate overstepped its authority when it moved to impeach Workman, who was accused of causing senior judges to be overpaid.

Acting justices Louis Bloom of Kanawha County and Jake Reger of Lewis County concurred in part and dissented in part.

“Our forefathers in establishing this Country, as well as the leaders who established the framework for our State, had the forethought to put a procedure in place to address issues that could arise in the future; in the ensuing years that system has served us well,” Matish said.

“What our forefathers did not envision is the fact that subsequent leaders would not have the ability or willingness to read, understand, or to follow those guidelines,” Matish added. “The problem we have today is that people do not bother to read the rules, or if they read them, they decide the rules do not apply to them.”

Matish said the Legislature did not follow the proper procedure outlined in the state constitution when it moved to impeach Workman and the other sitting members of the Supreme Court.

Workman's lead attorney, Marc Williams of Nelson Mullins in Huntington, said, “We're obviously gratified that the court gave serious consideration to the constitutional issues we raised.”

The lead attorney for Senate President Mitch Carmichael, J. Mark Adkins of Bowles Rice in Charleston, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Nelson Mullins issued a statement, saying Workman “faced a trial where she stood to lose her position, her pension and her reputation.” The decision, the statement added, will “provide a powerful buttress against partisan abuse of impeachment powers by the legislative branch for years to come.”

According to an article published on Oct. 11 by WVNews.com, a Senate representative announced that the Senate would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In August, the state's lawmakers voted to impeach all four of the sitting justices, training the largest number of impeachment articles on former Chief Justice Allen Loughry II, who was suspended in connection with a 23-count federal indictment amid accusations of wasteful spending on office renovations and other alleged crimes.

Typically the court has five justices, but one seat became vacant in July when former Justice Menis Ketchum announced his retirement. Following the vote, Justice Robin Jean Davis announced her retirement.

The Legislature adopted eight articles of impeachment, mostly targeting Loughry, while three other justices, including Workman, were also targeted.

The lawmakers impeached Loughry individually for “unnecessary and lavish spending” while putting more than $363,000 toward renovating his office, an amount that included a nearly $32,000 sofa and the price of installing a custom medallion in the floor.

Workman, who took over as chief justice after Loughry's suspension, allegedly authorized overly generous salaries to judges in the state court system who had taken senior status.

The impeachment of the final justice, Elizabeth “Beth” Walker, came when the West Virginia delegates approved an article that targeted all four justices for abusing their authority by failing to control expenses, and falling short in their oversight of policies related to working lunches and the personal use of state computers and vehicles.

The impeachment proceeded largely along party lines, with most Republican favoring impeachment. Some Democratic lawmakers did, however, also vote in favor of impeachment.