Ethics charges have been filed against a Summersville lawyer claiming he used shady tactics while campaigning for the May election, in which he narrowly defeated a longtime Nicholas County Circuit judge.
About a week before Steve Callaghan beat Circuit Judge Gary Johnson by 220 votes, a flier was sent out to voters in Nicholas County, purporting to show Johnson partying with President Barack Obama. Johnson has been judge for 23 years.
In a filing made public Friday, the Judicial Investigation Commission alleges Callaghan created the flier, or caused it to be distributed, and charges him with violating the rules judges and judicial candidates are required to abide by. Candidates for judicial office are required to comply with the state's Judicial Code of Conduct.
Callaghan is set to take office Jan. 1. He has 30 days to respond to the statement of charges. Eventually, arguments will be made before members of the Judicial Hearing Board, who will make a recommendation to state Supreme Court justices.
Judge Ronald Wilson, who chairs the judicial commission, writes in the statement of charges that formal discipline is appropriate.
The two-page political flier Callaghan sent, or caused to be sent to voters, the filing states, "was intended to deceive voters into believing that Judge Johnson and U.S. President Barack Obama were drinking beer and partying at the White House while conniving with one another to kill coal mining jobs in Nicholas County."
On May 5, the same day it was mailed to voters, the flier was posted to Callaghan's Facebook campaign page, according to the statement of charges. That night, a state disciplinary lawyer called Callaghan and told him that she believed the flier violated state ethics rules.
The lawyer told Callaghan that if he took down the Facebook posts and ran radio ads to counter the negative effects of the flier, she wouldn't file a disciplinary complaint against him, the charges state. She added, though, that if someone else were to file a complaint against him, it would be investigated. Nicholas Johnson filed a complaint against Callaghan on May 26.
According to the charges, Callaghan immediately removed the flier from his Facebook page. He posted an apology, which explained that the mailer was an inaccurate portrayal of Johnson.
Callaghan also purchased radio ads, which ran eight times between May 7 and 9, according to the charges.
"If you receive a mail advertisement recently from Steve Callaghan, Candidate for Nicholas County Circuit Judge, showing Judge Gary Johnson visiting the White House, please understand that the specific characterization of the White House visit may be inaccurate and misleading and should not have been sent containing this inappropriate information," the radio ad stated in part.
Saying Monday that he was following the advice of his lawyer, Callaghan issued a written statement when asked about the filing of the ethics charges. The statement refers to the flier as a "Photoshopped parody" and refers to the First Amendment, which, the statement reads, "protects a vigorous and robust exchange of ideas, parody, and other expressions of opinion, particularly in the context of an election."
Callaghan, in the statement, apologizes for any "misunderstandings or perceived inaccuracies" and adds that he didn't mean to mislead the public.
According to the statement of charges, Callaghan admitted that the idea for the flier was based on Johnson's June 2015 attendance at a child trafficking seminar in Washington, D.C. Members of the state Court Improvement Program, which Johnson chairs, attended the weeklong conference of the National Court Improvement Program.
Rainmaker Inc., a consulting firm hired by Callaghan to conduct research on Johnson, discovered information about Johnson's trip in a news story and a press release issued last year by the state Supreme Court.
"The press release and the news article made absolutely no mention of a party, alcohol or President Obama attending the event," the statement of charges against Callaghan reads. "Judge Johnson has never met President Obama. Judge Johnson has never been invited to the White House by President Obama."
The filing against Callaghan also states that Johnson "did not have any involvement in any loss of coal mining jobs in Nicholas County. As a judicial officer, Judge Johnson did not have any involvement in policymaking decisions by President Obama concerning coal."
As a judge, Johnson is required to remain neutral and detached from such issues, the filing states.
Johnson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.