The state Judicial Investigation Commission has publicly admonished a Putnam County magistrate who resigned earlier this month, calling his handling of a Hurricane man's case "a travesty of justice."
Scot Lawrence was facing disciplinary action when he cleaned out his office and left a letter of resignation on his desk Dec. 6, according to an admonishment from the commission made public on Dec. 18.
The admonishment states that "formal discipline was not essential" because Lawrence agreed to resign as magistrate and never again seek judicial office in West Virginia.
The admonishment stems from Lawrence's handling of a court proceeding involving Hurricane resident Troy Sexton, who recorded a portion of the hearing and uploaded it to YouTube. Sexton also filed a complaint against the magistrate with the investigation commission.
In the recording, Lawrence can be heard taunting Sexton and challenging him to a fight.
The judicial commission wrote that Lawrence's actions were a blueprint for what not to do. According to the admonishment, a state Division of Natural Resources officer who saw the proceeding said Lawrence acted "over the top," and a victims' advocate for the Putnam prosecutor's office said the proceeding "was not handled fairly."
In October, Lawrence responded to the investigation and denied any impropriety, according to the admonishment. He said he believed he was protecting an assistant prosecutor and his family by taking control of the trial and said if he had to do it again he would handle it the same way. Lawrence could not be reached Monday.
On Dec. 1, Lawrence acknowledged for the first time he handled the matter poorly, wrote Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson, who heads the investigation commission.
Lawrence's "handling of the Sexton matter is a travesty of justice and a blueprint for how not to try a case in magistrate court," Wilson wrote. "It is evident that from the beginning [Lawrence] had a very strong bias against Mr. Sexton. Therefore, he never should have heard the case."
Lawrence "either ignored or simply forgot that equal justice is a valued concept in our legal system," Wilson wrote in the admonishment. Lawrence "sent the iniquitous message that in his courtroom equal justice only applies to some. For that reason, alone, he should never again hold judicial office."
Sexton, 41, requested a hearing after he was charged in July with operating a motor vehicle with an illegal window tint and not wearing a seatbelt. In a letter - in which he insulted Lawrence several times, including calling him a "piggy" - Sexton asked that his case be moved to circuit court.
Lawrence never ruled on the motion to move the case, or a motion Sexton filed asking that the case be dismissed.
About a week before Sexton's case was set for trial, Lawrence mentioned the case to Marian Smith, a victim's advocate for the prosecutor's office in Putnam.
"He told her he was going to take care of the matter and that he was going to 'stack' the courtroom," the admonishment states.
On Aug. 12, Sexton went to trial. Before the proceedings began, Sexton passed the State Police trooper who had filed the charges against him and allegedly said, "oink, oink," according to the admonishment. Lawrence overheard the trooper tell his assistant about what Sexton allegedly said.
Also the day of the hearing, Lawrence told assistant Putnam prosecutor Elizabeth Sunyog not to take anything personally that happened during the proceedings. He said, "that the matter was between Mr. Sexton and him, and that [he] would 'handle it,'" according to the admonishment.
Immediately when the trial began, Lawrence took control of the prosecution's case, the investigation commission found.
"I'm going to tell you the way it is, Mr. Sexton. Okay? Do you understand me?" Lawrence said in a "harsh/mocking tone," the admonishment states.
Sexton took the stand in his own defense, without Lawrence first explaining his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to the judicial commission. Lawrence also didn't allow Sexton to tell his story, but instead questioned and "taunted" Sexton.
"Now, let's discuss a few other things since you're up here," the magistrate stated. "You know where I come from, Mr. Sexton, if somebody writes things as derogatory as you did in your motions towards me, and I'm right here with you right here."
Lawrence found Sexton guilty and sentenced him to pay a $100 fine for each charge. He didn't allow Sexton to speak before handing down the sentence, as the state Rules of Criminal Procedure require.
Sexton was also held in contempt for the alleged "oink oink" comment and ordered to pay a $50 fine.
Before leaving the courtroom, Lawrence told Sexton, "and let me tell you something about as far as being a pig. From what a couple of your neighbors have told me and from what - you know, that's a slang term used against police, which I'm sure you're aware of that, right?
"Well, at least it stands for something other than being a child-beater and a convict and all the other stuff, okay, that you've done," the magistrate said to Sexton.
Sexton served time in jail for domestic battery against his two 6-year-old sons at football practice and was charged with DUI last year. Also last year, Sexton was jailed in Cincinnati after being accused of trespassing and making threats at the Cincinnati Reds' Great American Ball Park, from which he was banned seven years ago.
On Dec. 22, Sexton filed precandidacy paperwork to run for Putnam magistrate next year.
Former Putnam magistrate Kim Blair, who was serving as a senior status magistrate, has been chosen by Supreme Court justices to replace Lawrence until Putnam Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers picks a permanent replacement to finish Lawrence's term, which ends next year. Lawrence, a Republican who served as a State Police trooper for 25 years, ousted Blair in the 2012 election.
Last year, justices ordered that Lawrence no longer be allowed to preside over domestic violence cases, pending the outcome of an investigation by the state Judicial Investigation Commission.
According to an order on file in the Supreme Court Clerk's office, Teresa Tarr, head of the Judicial Investigation Commission, presented justices with a report about Lawrence in response to a complaint that had been filed against him by Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury. The complaint isn't available to the public.
In October 2014, the majority of justices found that Lawrence hadn't committed "a serious violation" of the Code of Judicial Conduct, but remanded the matter to the investigation commission for further investigation and, "if warranted, the filing of formal charges."
Justice Allen Loughry said Lawrence had violated the code of conduct and voted to suspend Lawrence without pay until the matter is concluded, according to the October 2014 order.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.