WV Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry requests new criminal trial after conviction on 11 charges

Loughry filed a motion Friday requesting a new trial, but the motion was sealed.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged Loughry’s request in a new court filing Monday morning. According to that filing, Loughry “requested a transcript of a portion of the trial proceedings on an expedited basis.” Loughry also asked the court to allow additional briefings after the transcript comes in.

“Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the Court allow the United States to file its response to defendant Loughry’s motion for a new trial within seven days after defendant Loughry has filed any additional briefing,” federal prosecutors wrote.

Because Loughry’s motion is sealed, the reason for Loughry’s request has not been made public.

John Carr, an attorney representing Loughry, would not comment on why his client was asking for a new trial.

“At this point, especially given that it was filed under seal, I have no comment about that,” Carr said in a phone interview. “At some point, maybe I’ll be able to answer differently. But that’s where we are at the moment.”

Loughry was charged with almost two dozen federal crimes, but a jury found him guilty of 11.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 16.

Two days prior to the sentencing hearing, a state Judicial Investigation Commission will hold a disciplinary hearing to decide whether to strip him of his law license.

Loughry’s impeachment trial before the state Senate, though, has been put on hold indefinitely. The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that legislative leaders say blocks them from continuing with the trial.

Del. John Shott, R-Mercer, said in a recent interview that time is running out to remove Loughry from office before he is potentially locked behind bars. Shott said everything needs to be wrapped up by December, before a new class of lawmakers takes office following the November election.

“We’re exploring other options,” said Shott, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which drafted the articles of impeachment against the justices. “We’re in discussions about whether we will come back in and do a new article on Justice Loughry based on his convictions in federal court. That would be relatively simple. It would be a new article and relatively simple to do.”

Loughry isn’t the only judicial figure embroiled in a legal battle, though. Two former justices — Robin Davis and Menis Ketchum — have ongoing impeachment cases that need to be adjudicated.

Davis resigned the day that members of the House of Delegates voted to impeach her. She resigned before senators could hold an impeachment trial to remove her from office.

It was widely speculated that her impeachment trial would not be held because she resigned, but senators wanted to press forward with it anyway. In late September, she asked a federal judge to intervene and prevent the trial.

In a filing with the federal court in Charleston, Davis contended that members of the House of Delegates and Senate have violated her 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, among other things. Since the state Supreme Court intervened in her trial, Davis agreed last week that her federal complaint can wait for a while.

Under a proposed agreement between attorneys for the Legislature and Davis, lawmakers would have until mid-December to respond to the complaint, and Davis would have until mid-January to give her response.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver delayed retired Justice Menis Ketchum’s sentencing. Ketchum pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge in late August, admitting he used a state credit card to pay for a personal golfing trip.

Originally, Ketchum was to be sentenced in early December. A federal probation officer asked for that hearing to be pushed back, and Copenhaver agreed to sentence Ketchum on Jan. 30.