Judge Agrees to Resign

The state Judicial Investigation Commission has publicly admonished a Putnam County magistrate who resigned earlier this month, calling his handling of a Hurricane man’s case “a travesty of justice.” The admonishment stems from Scot Lawrence’s handling of an August court proceeding in which he was filmed taunting Hurricane resident Troy Sexton and challenging him to a fight. Lawrence said Sexton had called him a “piggy” in a previous motion and had said “oink, oink” when passing a police trooper before proceedings began. According to the admonishment from the commission made public on Dec. 18, Lawrence will not face disciplinary action since he agreed to resign as magistrate and never again seek judicial office in West Virginia. Lawrence left a letter of resignation on his desk Dec. 6.