CHARLESTON – A Wood County magistrate has been admonished for, among other things, improper treatment of an assistant.
The state Judicial Investigation Commission issued the public admonishment August 4 against Jody Purkey after West Virginia Supreme Court Administrator Director Joe Armstrong filed a complaint earlier this year.
According to the JIC, Purkey was working April 7. His assistant and a second assistant were working as well. The second assistant ran against Purkey in 2016 for the seat being vacated by Purkey’s mother. The JIC says “the two do not have a good working relationship,” noting two other situations that were resolved by the county’s chief circuit judge and by Armstrong.
At one point during that April 7 shift, that second assistant took paperwork from Purkey but returned it to his office without uploading it. When Purkey later saw the paperwork, he asked his assistant what needed to be done with it. His assistant told him the second assistant hadn’t explained what was wrong with the paperwork to keep it from being uploaded to the system.
When Purkey took the paperwork to the second assistant, she replied, “Figure it out yourself.” (She told the JIC her response was unprofessional.) Purkey became angry and swore at the second assistant and threw the paperwork in the air. The JIC says several courthouse employees heard Purkey’s outburst. The second assistant picked the papers up and tried to hand them back to Purkey, but he refused to take it. The paperwork fell again, and Purkey kicked it before storming back to his courtroom.
An hour later, Purkey apologized to the second assistant, and left a card on her desk a few days later with a written apology. In his written response and sworn statement to the JIC, Purkey admitted his behavior and communication were inappropriate for a judicial officer, violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and promised he would refrain from such behavior in the future.
The JIC said Purkey violated four rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct, but it also said both Purkey and the second assistant were at fault.
“But as the old adage goes, ‘two wrongs do not make a right,’” the admonishment, signed by JIC Chairman Alan D. Moats, states. “As the individual in the supervisory position, respondent (Purkey) should have led by example, ignored Magistrate Assistant 2’s insolent behavior, walked away to diffuse the situation and reported her to her magistrate or the chief circuit judge.
“Instead, respondent hurled expletives at Magistrate Assistant 2, threw the paperwork and kicked at it like an errant child. By doing so, he clearly called into question the integrity of the judicial system as a whole and is therefore admonished for his behavior.”
Purkey was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission case number 65-2023
