A Judge Pulled a Gun in the Courtroom--and Then It Got Weird [View all]

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Jose Pagliery
@Jose_Pagliery
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In March, a West Virginia judge was really irritated at the corporate lawyers in his courtroom.

He pulled out his gun, laid it on the bench, and pointed the barrel at one of the lawyers.

Here's my exclusive investigation on @thedailybeast:

thedailybeast.com
A Judge Pulled a Gun in the Courtroom—and Then It Got Weird
“The whole trial was insane,” said one lawyer, who later reported the weapon-wielding jurist to the FBI.
11:45 AM · Jul 15, 2022

https://www.thedailybeast.com/west-virginia-judge-circuit-judge-david-w-hummel-jr-pulled-a-gun-in-the-courtroom-and-then-it-got-weird?ref=author

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https://archive.ph/Q59Bp

During a trial in West Virginia earlier this year, witnesses tell The Daily Beast, a state court judge whipped out his handgun, waved it in the air, and left it on the bench with the barrel pointing directly at the corporate lawyers who had irritated him.

Circuit Judge David W. Hummel Jr., who oversees cases in the tiny city of New Martinsville, repeatedly told The Daily Beast it never happened. When reached by phone in March, he initially professed shock at the allegations. On subsequent phone calls, however, his story kept changing as he claimed to recall more details about the incident.

“I did not have my 1911 at any point during that trial,” he said then, referring to a common type of semi-automatic pistol. “It was secreted in a drawer on the bench. I never showed my 1911 at the trial whatsoever—at any point during that trial.”

That judge is now under investigation by the state’s judiciary for violating the profession’s code of conduct, according to three witnesses now sharing information with law enforcement and official communications about the investigation reviewed by The Daily Beast. The judge’s own staff has since told an investigator that the judge did, in fact, display his gun openly during an attorneys-only hearing and boasted about having it in his possession, according to two of those witnesses.

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