Kurt J. Pomrenke
Kurt J. Pomrenke was a district court judge for the 28th Judicial District's Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Virginia.[1] He was elected to the court by the Virginia General Assembly for a six-year term that commenced on July 1, 2013.[2] Pomrenke was removed from the bench on November 27, 2017, after being accused of judicial misconduct for attempting to influence witnesses in the trial of his wife.[3]
Biography
Pomrenke received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.[4] Before he became a judge, Pomrenke practiced law in Bristol, Virginia, for over 30 years.[5]
Noteworthy events
Accused of tampering with witnesses in wife's corruption trial (2017)
The Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission filed a complaint with the Virginia Supreme Court in July 2017, accusing Judge Pomrenke of official misconduct for allegedly tampering with witnesses in the trial against his wife, Stacey Pomrenke. The complaint said that Pomrenke should face retirement, censure, or removal. Pomrenke was also found guilty of criminal contempt of court. On November 27, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court ordered that Pomrenke be removed from the bench, effective immediately.[6]
Background
Stacey Pomrenke was the chief financial officer of Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU), and was one of nine executives and contractors charged with corruption and sent to prison in 2016. During the trial, Judge Pomrenke sent a note to BVU CEO Don Bowman and left a voicemail for another BVU employee. Pomrenke said the letter to Bowman was a thank you note, but prosecutors said he was trying to influence Bowman as a potential witness in the case. He included his state business card in the letter, which he said was standard, but prosecutors claimed was a further attempt to exert influence on him. An excerpt of the voicemail to the other BVU employee is below:
| “ | If you could kinda slip in when you have a chance just little remarks like, how Stacey did a great job, or Stacey was the one that took care of the employees, or Stacey is just an honest ... Just any, any kind of little comments you can make to support her, or just just something like that even thought it's not directly in response to the questions, if you could figure out a way to, to do that I really think that would help and make a huge difference.[7] | ” |
| —Kurt Pomrenke[6] | ||
Pomrenke's response
In Pomrenke's official response to the misconduct complaint, he denied trying to influence witnesses and argued that his actions did not warrant punishment.[8] His legal team also released a statement, saying, "He has fully cooperated with this process, which considers how the Canons, that is the rules which apply to Judges, are affected by two particular actions, personal to the Judge, and not related to cases before him or in his court."[6]
During his hearing in front of the Virginia Supreme Court, Pomrenke's lawyer said that the judge understood what he had done wrong and took full responsibility for his actions. "This loss of perspective was due to a catastrophic, singular event — a deeply unique situation that affected him, his beloved wife and his children," said the lawyer. He asked the court to consider censure as Pomrenke's punishment.[9]
Supreme court ruling
On November 27, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Pomrenke should be removed from the bench, effective immediately. In the opinion written by Chief Justice Donald Lemons, the court said Pomrenke's "actions are of sufficient gravity to warrant removal." The ruling also read, "We cannot escape the conclusion that having a sitting judge who apparently attempted to manipulate trial testimony would tend to impair public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of not only that judge, but also that of all the other members of the judiciary, and our entire system of justice."[3]
Criminal contempt charge
Prosecutors accused Pomrenke of failing to obey an order by U.S. District Court Judge James Jones when he shared court documents from his wife's trial with the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. On August 14, 2017, U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Sargent subpoenaed documents submitted by Pomrenke to the commission. She ordered the documents to be given to the court by September 1, 2017.[10]
On September 13, 2017, Judge Jones ruled that Pomrenke was guilty of contempt. The maximum sentence is six months in prison or a $5,000 fine.[11] On November 30, 2017, Pomrenke was sentenced to two months in prison and a $1,000 fine.[12]
Recent News
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kurt Pomrenke Virginia judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Virginia's Judicial System: Courts in Circuit and District 28
- Virginia's Judicial System: Bristol Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
- Virginia's Judicial System: Smyth Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
- Virginia's Judicial System: Washington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
Footnotes
- ↑ Virginia's Judicial System, "District Court Directory," accessed June 22, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Legislature, "House Resolution No. 531," April 3, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 WJHL.com, "Supreme Court of Virginia orders removal of Judge Kurt Pomrenke from bench," November 27, 2017
- ↑ Martindale.com, "Judge Profile: Florence A. Powell," accessed August 17, 2017
- ↑ WCYB.com, "New local judge to head district court," July 1, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 WCYB.com, "Bristol judge accused of misconduct in BVU corruption scandal," July 19, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ WCYB, "Attorneys for Judge Pomrenke file response to complaint," August 7, 2017
- ↑ Bristol Herald Courier, "Pomrenke seeks censure for judicial misconduct complaint," November 2, 2017
- ↑ News Channel 11, "Clerk ordered to turn over all documents from Judge Kurt Pomrenke," August 14, 2017
- ↑ Bristol Herald Courier, "Pomrenke found guilty of contempt in federal court," September 13, 2017
- ↑ WJHL.com, "Kurt Pomrenke sentenced to two months in prison, $1K fine," November 30, 2017
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia
State courts:
Virginia Supreme Court • Virginia Court of Appeals • Virginia Circuit Courts • Virginia District Courts • Virginia Magistrates
State resources:
Courts in Virginia • Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Virginia
