CIRCUIT JUDGE TIM SWEENEY

CHARLESTON — Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Tim Sweeney was one of two judges admonished by the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission this month after drawing attention to issues within Child Protective Services.

The Judicial Investigation Commission issued an admonishment against Sweeney on June 12, accusing him of violating four rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including violations related to public statements and social media activity concerning an ongoing child abuse and neglect case.

Despite the alleged violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, the JIC found the formal discipline against Sweeney was not necessary given Sweeney’s impeccable judicial record, choosing instead to publicly admonish Sweeney.

In an order issued on Feb. 3, Sweeney directed several state Department of Human Services and Bureau of Social Services officials to report to the Ritchie County Courthouse on Feb. 20 and receive assignments as Child Protective Services workers.

Officials ordered to appear were new DoHS Cabinet Secretary Alex Mayer, Deputy Commissioner Laurea Ellis, special consultant Kim Ricketts, General Counsel Chanin Krivonyak, and Bureau of Social Services Commissioner Lorie Bragg.

Sweeney conducted an interview with The Intelligencer regarding this order. Sweeney later canceled the order after meeting with Mayer and working out an agreement.

In February, Sweeney said the order was meant to get the attention of DoHS, citing increased caseloads for the few CPS workers serving the counties in his judicial circuit. In a statement Thursday evening, Sweeney said he would accept his admonishment, though he did not agree with it.

“I respectfully disagree with the JIC decision,” Sweeney said. “My intention was and continues to be the welfare of children. I’m grateful to Steven Adams and MetroNews for shining the light on this issue.”

The order was the result of an October 2024 abuse and neglect hearing before Sweeney where the judge ordered a child be placed in an out-of-state treatment facility. According to the admonishment, the case fell through the cracks and local CPS workers did not meet certain deadlines.

Sweeney held a hearing on Feb. 3 to determine why the deadlines had not been met, with a county prosecuting attorney, the child’s attorney, a guardian ad litem, two probation officers, and two CPS workers in attendance. The CPS workers testified that they were “overworked and understaffed,” using threat assessments to triage cases based on “who was safe and who wasn’t.”

Besides handling cases in Doddridge, Pleasants, and Ritchie counties, the CPS workers testified that they were also handling child abuse and neglect cases in Lewis and Upshur counties.

“One of the workers testified that the worker assigned the child’s case had (100) families on her caseload when the average should be no more than (10),” the report stated. “One of the workers also asked (Sweeney) to help them obtain more staff.”

During the hearing, Sweeney discussed the possibility of civil contempt charges against state DoHS and child welfare officials in order to bring attention to the severity of the CPS staff shortages and workload.

“Maybe we need the commissioner’s name so that I can sign a civil contempt order today to require the commissioner to be incarcerated until this situation is rectified,” Sweeney said. “Maybe if it gets in … various news feeds, the Legislature might recognize something and realize this is a situation that needs to be addressed.

“My concern is this: If I just sit around and these things are not happening and I don’t do anything, am I doing my job? Am I part of the solution or part of the problem? … The buck kind of stops here.”

A complaint was opened against Sweeney on Feb. 10, accusing him of not providing the DoHS officials with notice prior to conducting his media interviews. Sweeney provided JIC officials a sworn statement on May 21, denying any impropriety for talking to the press. Sweeney also denied releasing any confidential information from the abuse and neglect case that led to the Feb. 3 order. Sweeney believed he was in his legal authority in his order to DoHS officials.

“Judges need to move heaven and earth to get these things done, and have been subject to criticism for not doing so,” Sweeney said in his sworn statement. “And I believed in the parameters of my administrative authority as a judge over (DoHS)…to require that to be done.”

Sweeney has been a circuit court judge since being appointed to the bench in 2010 by former Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and winning re-election multiple times, most recently in 2024. He served as Pleasants County prosecuting attorney between 1985 and 2010. He also served on the Lawyer Disciplinary Board.

Sweeney has never been disciplined either as a lawyer or a judge. Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Bridget Cohee, the vice chair of the JIC, cited this fact as a reason Sweeney was only being admonished for violating the Judicial Code of Conduct.

“The Commission is not unmindful that (Sweeney) was trying to do something good for both the children and local DoHS workers…As the old saying goes, ‘A good deed is never lost.’ Moreover, ‘every time you do a good deed you shine the light a little farther into the dark’ as was done in this case,” Cohee wrote. “Nonetheless, (Sweeney) used his flashlight in the wrong manner to achieve the right result.

“Instead, (Sweeney) issued the DoHS order requiring DoHS officials to appear and serve as caseworkers, etc. without any notice or opportunity to be heard,” Cohee continued. “He then contacted the news media, provided the reporter with the order and had voluntary interviews. (Sweeney) referred to the confidential hearing and indicated in the interview with MetroNews the testimony from one of the CPS workers that her caseload was tenfold.”

The JIC also admonished Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers for similar matters. The Associated Press reported that Akers placed DoHS in a one-year “improvement period” under a court-appointed monitor to report on the state’s use of unlicensed facilities — such as 4-H camps and hotels — due to reports of violent incidents involving children in state custody.

In that case, Akers had also ordered Mayer to report to her courtroom for a hearing on Feb. 28 that was open to the public and attended by local press. The JIC said Akers’ comments in that hearing and subsequent media interviews violated the Judicial Code of Conduct.

Last month, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced several improvements to the CPS and foster care system, including new leadership training for the more than 570 CPS supervisors, as well as requiring CPS supervisors to conduct monthly reviews of all cases for which they are responsible. DoHS recently wrapped up a listening tour across the state. According to West Virginia Watch, DoHS is also seeking vendors to conduct an independent review of foster child placements and licensing.

Sweeney was also admonished by the JIC for social media posts on his Facebook profile, accusing him of creating the appearance of soliciting funds for community fundraisers, providing public support for local law enforcement officials and prosecutors, and supporting charges for those accused of human trafficking.

“While we have no reason to doubt that (Sweeney) is a fair judge, is it not our measure that counts but public perception,” Cohee wrote. “Judges must not only be neutral and detached; they must also appear to be neutral and detached.”