Robin Jean Davis
From Ballotpedia
Robin Jean Davis
Prior offices
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Education
Robin Jean Davis was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. She was elected to the court in a partisan election in 1996 and was re-elected in 2000. Davis served as chief justice of the court in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2014.[1]
On August 13, 2018, the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to impeach Davis and three other members of the state supreme court. She announced her immediate resignation the following day.[2][3] See this article to learn more. Click here for more information about the West Virginia Supreme Court vacancy.
Education
Davis received her undergraduate degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1978. She received both her master's and law degrees from West Virginia University in 1982.[4]
Career
After graduating from law school, Davis went into private practice until 1996, when she joined the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.[1]
Awards and associations
- 2008: Graduate of Distinction Award, West Virginia Education Alliance
- 2002: Distinguished West Virginian Award, from Governor Cecil H. Underwood
- 1993: Inducted into the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- 1991-1996: Member, West Virginia Board of Law Examiners[1]
Elections
2012
- See also: West Virginia judicial elections, 2012
Davis was one of two candidates to advance from the Democratic primary on May 8, 2012. Davis won re-election to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in the general election on November 6, 2012, winning 27.11 percent of the vote.[5][6]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Davis received a campaign finance score of -0.31, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -0.35 that justices received in West Virginia.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]
Noteworthy events
Davis resigns amid impeachment proceedings (2018)
On August 14, 2018, Davis announced her resignation from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, effective immediately, amid impeachment proceedings directed at her and three other justices. Her seat was not filled by gubernatorial appointment but at the general election on November 6, 2018 (her resignation effective date met the deadline for open seats on the court to appear on the general election ballot).[3]
The announcement came one day after the West Virginia House of Delegates approved 11 of 14 articles of impeachment against four of the state supreme court's sitting justices. Of these 11 articles, Allen Loughry was named in seven, Davis in four, Margaret Workman in three, and Beth Walker in one. The articles against Davis dealt with alleged misuse of state funds in renovating office space and authorizing the overpayment of senior status judges in violation of state law. See the table below for further information on the articles of impeachment that named Davis.[8]
| Articles of impeachment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article | Justice(s) charged | Charge | Status |
| 2 | Davis | Misuse of $500,000 in state funds | Adopted by a vote of 56-41 |
| 4 | Davis Workman |
Authorizing overpayment of senior status judges | Adopted by a vote of 62-34 |
| 5 | Davis | Authorizing overpayment of senior status judges | Adopted by a vote of 61-35 |
| 14 | Davis Loughry Walker Workman |
Misuse of funds by failure to implement policy preventing improper spending | Adopted by a vote of 51-44 |
Ethics complaint against Davis (2015)
In April 2015, former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Maloney filed an ethics complaint against Davis for not recusing herself in Manor Care v. Tom Douglas. Davis wrote the majority opinion for that case, which involved an 87-year-old woman who died after being admitted to the Manor Care nursing home facility. A jury awarded the woman's family $90 million, an amount which was later reduced to $48 million by the court. It was later reported that Michael Fuller, an attorney for the Douglas family, had contributed $35,000 to Davis' election campaign. He had also negotiated the purchase of a Learjet for $1.2 million from Davis' husband.[9]
In a statement, Maloney argued that “[t]he relationship between personal injury lawyers and the West Virginia judiciary has moved from cozy to unethical. ... The taxpayers have an expectation of fairness and impartiality from our judges."[9]
Davis, in return, denied knowing Fuller outside of his role as the plaintiff's attorney, and that Fuller's contribution of $35,000 was nominal when compared to the $1.3 million she spent on her campaign. As for her husband's Learjet sale, Davis stated that the business association between them was limited and that there had been no other business dealings.[9]
The West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission voted unanimously on May 22, 2015, to dismiss the complaint against Davis. The commission's report, which said, "there is no evidence to support a finding of probable cause that Respondent violated the Code of Judicial Conduct," was released on June 21, 2015.[10]
The commission admonished Bill Maloney for issuing a press release the day after he filed the complaint. The report said, "Mr. Maloney ... chose to violate the confidentiality Rule for filing complaints when he issued the rapacious press release that was designed to convict Justice David in the court of public opinion before any decision on the merits was reached."[10]
Maloney said the following in a statement a day after the commission's report was released: "There are obviously still a different set of rules for the elitist class of career politicians who have grown to accept corruption and unethical actions as the norm in West Virginia."[11]
The commission's full report can be accessed here.
See also
External links
- Project Vote Smart, "Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis (WV)"
- The West Virginia Record, "Supreme Court approves first-ever Rules of Juvenile Procedure," April 20, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 West Virginia Judiciary, "Justice Robin Jean Davis," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "West Virginia House Votes To Impeach 3 State Supreme Court Justices," August 13, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Metro News, "Justice Davis announces retirement from state Supreme Court, amid impeachment," August 14, 2018
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis (WV)," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "2012 Official General Election Results," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ Herald-Dispatch, "Davis, Chafin win Dem WV Supreme Court primaries," May 8, 2012
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "House Adopts Articles of Impeachment Against State Supreme Court Justices," August 14, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The State Journal, "Ethics complaint alleges Davis should have disqualified herself from landmark Manor Care case," April 26, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Supreme Court of Appeals State of West Virginia, "Judicial Investigation Commission dismisses complaint against Justice Robin Davis," accessed July 21, 2015
- ↑ West Virginia Record, "Maloney, WV CALA blast JIC's Davis ruling," July 23, 2015
