Associated Press Published

Special Counsel Recommends Randolph Co. Judge Suspension

wilfong.jpg

A special counsel is recommending that a Randolph County judge be suspended without pay for four years.

Rachael Fletcher Cipoletti also recommends that Circuit Judge Jaymie Wilfong be censured.

Cipoletti is special judicial disciplinary counsel for the Judicial Investigation Commission. She made the recommendations in a brief filed Tuesday.

The brief says Wilfong had an affair with the former director of North Central Community Corrections and refused to recuse herself from cases involving him or his staff. The brief also alleges that Wilfong performed sexual acts on him in her chambers between court proceedings.

Wilfong’s lawyers say in a response that her conduct doesn’t justify what they call the “death penalty.”

The case is before the Judicial Hearing Board, which will make a recommendation to the West Virginia Supreme Court.