The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia published an order This week, it upheld a lower court’s decision to remove two Jefferson County commissioners from office for refusing to attend meetings or perform their mandatory duties as elected officials.

The order came after former Jefferson County Commissioners Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson filed an appeal on July 31, asking the state Supreme Court to grant a Decision of 1 May by a three-member panel of judges, removed them immediately from their elected positions.

According to the filing, a more detailed opinion setting out the basis for the ruling will be published “in due course.” Wednesday’s ruling was filed under expedited procedure due to the urgency of the matter.

The May ruling at the center of the appeal came from Judges Joseph K. Reeder of the 29th Judicial Circuit, Jason A. Wharton of the 4th Judicial Circuit and Perri Jo DeChristopher of the 17th Judicial Circuit.

They ruled that Krouse and Jackson had failed to fulfill the duties they had sworn to perform when they took office.

Krouse and Jackson were arrested in March on the 42nd Offense fees These include, but are not limited to, charges related to conspiracy to impede the quorum of the Commission, failure to perform her official duties, and failure to fill a vacant seat on the County Commission.

The women intentionally missed every Jefferson County Commission meeting between September 19 and November 16 to “protest,” as they called it, the process of filling a vacant commission seat. During this time, they continued to collect paychecks for their work on the commission, each earning about $8,800 in taxpayer money.

Without their attendance at meetings and the empty seat, a quorum could not be reached, leaving important county business—such as approving payment of bills, filling vacancies for county employees, and renewing contracts—unfinished business.

While they missed meetings, the women made several posts on social media explaining that their absence was orchestrated as a deliberate tactic to prevent the commission from filling its vacant seat with a candidate who was not a “true conservative.”

Several of those social media posts were used as evidence in the dismissal order. The judges said they showed the two deputies were engaged in a conspiracy. The missed meetings, the judges wrote, were more than just a “casual disregard” of their office and duties. Rather, they were a “conscious refusal” to comply and a “weapon” to use their ability to prevent a quorum and hold up the county’s business.

Finally, Jackson and Krouse returned to the county commission on November 30 after a judge ordered their attendance. At that meeting – and “ironically,” the order states – the commission office was filled.

“This refusal to meet until called upon removes any doubt that (Jackson and Krouse’s) actions constitute a willful and conscious disregard for the law,” the dismissal order states. “…The Court therefore concludes that (Krouse and Jackson) … placed their own interests above the needs of the citizens of Jefferson County and used their conscious and deliberate refusal to attend meetings and to appoint a fifth commissioner as a weapon to advance their own interests.”