CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A three-judge panel has been appointed to hear whether Richwood’s city council is within its rights to remove Bob Henry Baber as mayor.
The panel was named on Thursday by the state Supreme Court. Nicholas Circuit Judge James Rowe, who is a senior status judge on temporary assignment, requested the panel.
Those who will serve on the panel include Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake, Randolph Circuit Judge David Wilmoth and Judge Robert Richardson, whose judicial district is in Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.
Their duties are set to begin at 9 a.m. June 15 in Nicholas Circuit Court in Summersville.
In the meantime, lawyers from both sides are to exchange lists of witnesses and other evidence.
MORE: See the state Supreme Court administrative order establishing the three-judge panel.
Richwood Council asked Baber to resign last September over undocumented spending on his state-issued purchasing card.
He contended that Council did not have the right to remove him.
Council then moved to impeach Baber.
Baber filed a lawsuit against Richwood Council and the state Auditor’s office, which was investigating the town’s spending, in Kanawha Circuit Court. The Auditor was dismissed, and the lawsuit moved to Nicholas County.