CHARLESTON – Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, and House Speaker Pro Tempore John Overington, R-Berkeley, today formally requested that Governor Jim Justice call the Legislature into a special session for the specific purpose of allowing the House of Delegates to consider possible Articles of Impeachment against one or more justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Earlier today, the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary attempted to facilitate any consideration of possible Articles of Impeachment by creating a bipartisan subcommittee to investigate any potential Articles. However, that attempt was met with political resistance that would have prevented that investigation from being conducted in the deliberate and thorough bipartisan manner a process of this gravity requires. Accordingly, it was decided that, in order to ensure that any potential impeachment investigation of proceedings would comply with the requirements of the Constitution and due process of the law is followed, a special session is vital to achieve that goal. These types of proceedings are extremely rare, and it is critical that the proper procedures be followed given the serious and historical nature of the situation. It is imperative that this process be executed correctly, with proper respect for the historical precedence, rather than to satisfy anybody’s arbitrary political timeframe or deadline. House and Senate leaders remain committed to doing their part to ensure that all West Virginians have full faith in their Court system restored.
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