Judicial ethics panel seeks sanctions for Bristol judge

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The state commission that enforces judicial ethics has recommended the Supreme Court of Virginia remove or censure Bristol Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Kurt J. Pomrenke.

The ethics complaint filed in the Supreme Court July 10 stems from Pomrenke’s attempts to help his wife defend criminal charges.

Pomrenke was not charged in the federal public corruption case against his wife, a former executive of the troubled public utilities commission in Bristol, but his actions were cited by prosecutors in a contempt-of-court case against the wife.

Witness contacts

Specifically, Pomrenke sent a note to the utilities’ new CEO, thanking him for supporting the judge’s wife and endorsing her innocence, court records showed. He also left a voice mail urging another utilities staffer to say positive things about the judge’s wife if the staffer were to testify. Pomrenke did not dispute making those communications.

In his answer to the JIRC charges, Pomrenke acknowledged he would not again make the same communications under the circumstances. In both cases, he said, he was speaking personally and without intending to invoke his status as a judge.

“Each of the subject communications [was] private, in form and nature; neither prejudiced the administration of justice in the Commonwealth,” Pomrenke’s attorney wrote in his answer.

Pomrenke described the time as a “terrible period in which he sought to be the loving and supportive husband to his wife as she underwent an aggressive federal prosecution.”

Pomrenke’s wife, former Bristol Virginia Utilities CFO Stacy Pomrenke, was among nine executives sent to prison for involvement with vendor kickbacks at the agency.

The Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission last month decided the judge’s witness contacts warranted discipline by the Supreme Court.

“The Commission alleges that the Judge engaged in misconduct, and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the proper administration of justice,” the JIRC complaint said. The commission “further alleges that such misconduct is of sufficient gravity to constitute the basis for retirement, censure, or removal,” the complaint continued.

The Virginia constitution authorizes the Supreme Court, after a hearing in open court, to censure or remove judges for misconduct or conduct prejudicial to the proper administration of justice.

On July 20, the high court dismissed a JIRC complaint against two judges accused of misconduct by publicly campaigning against a courthouse relocation referendum.

Pomrenke is represented by Roanoke attorney John E. Lichtenstein, who said the judge “has fully cooperated with this process.”

Lichtenstein emphasized that the ethics charges do not involve Pomrenke’s work as a judge. In a written statement, Lichtenstein said the discipline process “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.

“Judge Pomrenke looks forward to the opportunity to address this matter before the Court,” the statement concluded.

Katherine B. Burnett, commission counsel for the JIRC, said she had no comment on the Pomrenke complaint.

JIRC action against Pomrenke began in January with a formal notice alleging he was charged with violating the Virginia Canons of Judicial Conduct. Pomrenke failed to maintain “high standards of conduct,” failed to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety and failed to refrain from lending the prestige of his office to advance private interests, the commission counsel charged.

The seven-member commission heard evidence on June 13 and determined the charges were “well-founded and of sufficient gravity to constitute the basis for retirement, censure or removal,” the complaint said.

The commission asked the court to set a schedule for briefing and oral argument. The commission said it saw no need to take additional evidence. The court scheduled a hearing for its session that begins Oct. 17.

Pomrenke sits in the 28^th Judicial District, which includes courts in Bristol and the counties of Washington and Smyth. Two other judges, Chief Judge Florence A. Powell and Judge Joseph B. Lyle, sit on the J&DR bench in the 28^th District.

After the witness contacts became public, Pomrenke said he voluntarily removed himself from hearing any criminal cases until about two months after his wife’s sentencing.

Pomrenke, 63, grew up in Tazewell and graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond law school.

A lawyer in Bristol for more than 30 years, Pomrenke was elected to the bench in 2013. His term as a judge expires on June 20, 2019.