CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Judicial Hearing Board has lifted a stay and scheduled a disciplinary hearing in the case of suspended and convicted state Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry.
The board’s decision came Tuesday, a day after state Disciplinary Counsel Teresa Tarr requested the move.
The hearing has been set for Jan. 14, 2019, two days before Loughry is scheduled to be sentenced on 11 federal criminal counts. He was convicted earlier this month.
Loughry requested the disciplinary hearing be postponed not long after the state Judicial Investigation Commission filed a 32-count Statement of Charges against him in early June, which was followed by his suspension by a fill-in state Supreme Court. Loughry allegedly violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct. The charges allege, among other things, that Loughry repeatedly lied about Court spending in media interviews and before the House of Delegates Finance Committee.
The Judicial Investigation Commission concluded Loughry “engaged in a pattern and practice of lying and using his public office for private gain.”
The JIC has amended its formal charges against Loughry to include the federal conviction. The amended statement was also filed Monday.
The JIC was the first to file anything publicly against Loughry. It began its investigation back in February. It concluded that a multitude of emails showed Loughry was heavily involved with the $363,000 design and renovation of his office, including a $7,500 custom-made wooden medallion of the State of West Virginia built into the floor with his home county of Tucker in blue granite.
The disciplinary hearing will be held in the Visiting Judge’s Courtroom at the Kanawha County Judicial Annex in Charleston.