West Virginia’s Supreme Court has agreed to a six-month suspension and a fine for a West Virginia circuit judge accused of pulling rank over and over following a traffic stop.
Justices also said Circuit Judge Carter Williams of Hardy County should be censured and fined $5,000, according to a 56-page opinion released this week.
Earlier, the West Virginia Judicial Hearing Board concluded that his conduct violated multiple provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct. That board had recommended a year’s suspension but with nine months of it suspended.
The Supreme Court opinion written by Justice Beth Walker stated, “we conclude that a six-month suspension without pay is more appropriate to address Respondent’s conduct.”
Scrutiny began July 11, 2021, when Williams went out for ice cream with his family, started to drive home, picked up a cell phone he had dropped, got pulled over by Moorefield Police Officer Deavonta Johnson for having the phone in his hand while driving, berated the patrolman, and called multiple local officials, including the patrolman’s supervisor while the traffic stop was still going on.
Investigators say that in the hours following the traffic stop, Williams called the supervising officer, Lt. Melody Burrows, multiple times, called Moorefield Police Chief Stephen Riggleman and called the town’s former police chief Steve Reckart. He showed up at the home of Moorefield Mayor Carol Zuber and discussed wanting to file a complaint.
Witnesses before the Judicial Hearing Board suggested the judge’s message was that he would look less favorably on cases involving the local police department.
The probe also revealed earlier traffic stops where Williams volunteered his position as a local judge.
Justices of the Supreme Court took that identification into account, saying anyone stopped by an officer would have the right to question the reason but that the judge’s identification of his own position in life was an additional factor.
“Respondent stepped out of the shoes of an accused contesting a stop and into the shoes of a judge upon identifying himself as ‘Judge Williams’ and repeatedly invoking his office on the evening of July 11,” Walker wrote for the court.
“Calling Officer Johnson’s supervisor during the stop can only reasonably be interpreted as coercive, and the calls made thereafter were a blatant invocation of his office.”
Justices noted that Williams has described introspection about the events, but that he has not acknowledged an understanding that his actions violated the Code of Judicial Conduct.
“In such a circumstance, the failure to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct is a significant factor to consider, and we conclude that it justifies a harsher sanction than that imposed by the JHB,” Walker wrote, referring to the Judicial Hearing Board.