Stunning Wood Floor Inlay Part of ‘Wasteful Spending’ by W.V. Supreme Court

This wood floor medallion was listed among several controversial expenditures made by the West Virginia Supreme Court. Source: WV Legislative Photography/Perry BennettAn elaborate wood floor medallion is being cited as one of the reasons West Virginia’s House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the impeachment of the entire West Virginia Supreme Court last week.

The 14 articles of impeachment, published August 7, cited “wasteful spending with regard to office renovations,” which included the installation of a wood floor medallion in the shape of West Virginia.

The justices’ $3.7 million spent on office renovations first fell under scrutiny late last year when a report by WCHS Eyewitness News documented questionable purchases made by the supreme court. Listed among the controversial items purchased, along with a $32,000 sectional couch, was the $7,500 wood floor medallion.

The medallion was installed in then-Chief Justice Allen Loughry’s office in 2013. It features cut-out shapes of all of the counties in West Virginia, each a different color; Loughry’s home county, Tucker, is featured in granite.

The medallion installation was done by Eleanor, W.Va.-based Corner Stone Interiors, according to Neighborgall Construction, which handled the renovations.

Loughry was indicted in June on 22 criminal federal charges including fraud, false statements and witness tampering, according to CNN. The articles of impeachment for the justices will go for a full House vote August 13.

Update: Loughry was sentence to two years in prison for corruption.