A Kanawha County judge on Wednesday told frequent political candidate Janet "JT" Thompson that she must get prior approval from a judge or hire an attorney before filing more lawsuits.
Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit said she wasn't taking away Thompson's constitutional rights. Instead, Thompson's rights are "just being somewhat limited," the judge said.
Thompson has cost the county and city more than $118,000 defending election contests and civil actions, lawyers for the city of Charleston and the Kanawha County Commission told Tabit.
The city and the county filed a lawsuit in May asking that Thompson's latest election challenge to the March Democratic primary election for mayor be thrown out and that a judge or attorney get involved before Thompson is allowed to file any more court proceedings.
Tabit agreed to both requests. She ruled that Thompson hadn't notified her opponent, Paul Monroe, of her plan to contest the election in a timely manner. Thompson lost to Monroe.
Thompson always has represented herself in court and, as attorney for the city Karen McElhinny pointed out, hasn't had to pay the usual filing fee in circuit court because of her limited income. The filing fee is about $200.
"In Ms. Thompson's world, she just files first and thinks later," McElhinny said.
Thompson argued that she hadn't been notified what Wednesday's hearing would address. She said she had filed a writ of prohibition with the West Virginia Supreme Court to try to stop the hearing.
"I object to these proceedings," Thompson said. "I think it's a big game to you all."
"It is not a game," the judge answered. "In fact, it's my perception that the other litigants think it's a game to you.
"The courtroom is not a place to play games."
The city of Charleston has paid more than $100,000 defending itself against filings by Thompson, McElhinny said. At least $18,000 has been spent by the county because of Thompson, attorney Johnnie Brown said.
Ultimately, it's the taxpayers who are footing the bill, the attorneys noted.
"We're mindful this is not something we are asking for lightly," McElhinny said. "Ms. Thompson is very intelligent and I think she is knowledgeable about the law, even though she is not an attorney. She probably knows more about the law than many first-year law students, frankly. But what she hasn't had to face is having someone look at a claim before she brings it and decide, 'I don't think this meets the bare minimum.'
"Ultimately, her claims have been thrown out. She has not prevailed in these election law challenges in the past, but she keeps filing them, and I think she has made it clear she intends to continue to file them."
Last month, a three-judge panel dismissed a petition Thompson filed seeking to remove Charleston Mayor Danny Jones from office. The judges said Thompson hadn't gathered enough valid signatures on the petition.
Following that ruling, Thompson said she would be back with 25 valid signatures.
After Tabit ruled on Wednesday, Thompson shouted, "Notice of appeal," indicating that she would ask the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.