William and Sherry Tinsley of Campbells Creek carry signs supporting Kanawha County Magistrate Carol Fouty in front of the Kanawha County Judicial Annex building Thursday. Fouty has been suspended, and the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission charged Fouty Tuesday with violating several codes of judicial conduct.
A Charleston man denied he asked Kanawha County Magistrate Carol Fouty to dismiss charges against his friend before recommending her as a maid.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man denied he asked Kanawha County Magistrate Carol Fouty to dismiss charges against his friend before recommending her as a maid.
Luther Basham, 61, said officials are conducting a "witch hunt" against Fouty and he said he's not alone in that opinion. Four of Fouty's friends held a rally in front of the courthouse Thursday asking officials to turn their attention to the other nine magistrates.
The West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission charged Fouty with violating several codes of judicial conduct Tuesday. Among the commission's statement of charges is that Fouty dismissed a citation against Melea Dawn Fisher, 30, of Cross Lanes, for misdemeanor simple possession on Jan. 30. She allegedly did so at the request of Basham.
But Basham said those allegations are false.
"I never asked Carol Fouty to dismiss the charges. I don't have that kind of influence," Basham said.
He's known Fouty since the 1970s and when he was arrested more than 16 years ago, she arraigned him.
"How am I going to influence someone when she set a bond for me at $100,000?" Basham said.
Basham served 16 years in prison and was released in the fall of 2011. Around this time he met Fisher, he said.
He called Fouty when West Virginia State Trooper G.E. Gregory cited Fisher in January for possessing Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication.
"I asked her, 'Is there anything you can do to help this girl out?'" Basham said. "She [Fouty] said, 'Have her appear before me tomorrow.'"
Basham said Fouty dismissed the citation during Fisher's preliminary hearing because no one showed up to prosecute her.
However, according to the statement of charges, Fouty violated conduct by not "seeking the knowledge or input" of a prosecuting attorney or Gregory.
About a week later, Basham said he was talking to Fouty about Fisher, who had just lost her job.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man denied he asked Kanawha County Magistrate Carol Fouty to dismiss charges against his friend before recommending her as a maid.
Luther Basham, 61, said officials are conducting a "witch hunt" against Fouty and he said he's not alone in that opinion. Four of Fouty's friends held a rally in front of the courthouse Thursday asking officials to turn their attention to the other nine magistrates.
The West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission charged Fouty with violating several codes of judicial conduct Tuesday. Among the commission's statement of charges is that Fouty dismissed a citation against Melea Dawn Fisher, 30, of Cross Lanes, for misdemeanor simple possession on Jan. 30. She allegedly did so at the request of Basham.
But Basham said those allegations are false.
"I never asked Carol Fouty to dismiss the charges. I don't have that kind of influence," Basham said.
He's known Fouty since the 1970s and when he was arrested more than 16 years ago, she arraigned him.
"How am I going to influence someone when she set a bond for me at $100,000?" Basham said.
Basham served 16 years in prison and was released in the fall of 2011. Around this time he met Fisher, he said.
He called Fouty when West Virginia State Trooper G.E. Gregory cited Fisher in January for possessing Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication.
"I asked her, 'Is there anything you can do to help this girl out?'" Basham said. "She [Fouty] said, 'Have her appear before me tomorrow.'"
Basham said Fouty dismissed the citation during Fisher's preliminary hearing because no one showed up to prosecute her.
However, according to the statement of charges, Fouty violated conduct by not "seeking the knowledge or input" of a prosecuting attorney or Gregory.
About a week later, Basham said he was talking to Fouty about Fisher, who had just lost her job.
Fouty then said, according to Basham, "Do you think she would like to work for me and clean my house?"
Fouty remembers dismissing Fisher's citation the week prior, Basham said.
Fisher began working as Fouty's maid the following morning.
On Feb. 27, police arrested Fisher in Fouty's car as she allegedly drove the wrong way on MacCorkle Avenue in Kanawha City. Fisher had been running errands for Fouty.
According to the charges, Fouty called the on-duty magistrate and asked her to keep Fisher's bail low.
Basham said Fouty did nothing wrong in dismissing the ticket and she supported his friend when she had bills to pay.
Fouty has been staying at her second home and has not answered her phone or returned calls, he said. She did not answer phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
Four of Fouty's friends rallied in front of the Kanawha County Courthouse Thursday.
Billy and Sherry Tinsley, of Campbells Creek, have known Fouty since the early 1980s.
"I feel if you want to pinpoint pressure to one person then you need to pinpoint pressure to all people," Sherry Tinsley said.
Ann Peck, of Campbells Creek, and Delphia Jones, of Rand, joined Sherry Tinsley on Thursday.
"I think it's just someone else who wants her position, who wants her out," Peck said.
The group said Fouty is a victim of political attacks, just months before the election. Fouty, the only Republican incumbent running for magistrate, was first elected as a Kanawha magistrate in 1983 and served until 1995. She was then elected again in 1998 and has been a magistrate since.
Reach Travis Crum at travis.c...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.
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