Opinion ID: 1057813
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Electronic Text Messages

Text: The Commission alleged that on the evening of July 22, 2011, Judge Waymack sent inappropriate electronic text messages from her cellular telephone to an employee of the City of Hopewell District Court's clerk's office. At the time Judge Waymack sent the messages to the court employee, her nephew, Joseph Waymack, was seeking his party's nomination to run for a seat in the House of Delegates. The nominee was to be chosen at a meeting in Windsor, Virginia, on the following day. According to the Commission, Judge Waymack attempted to assist her nephew in obtaining the nomination by sending a text message to the court employee to ascertain whether the court employee's mother would be attending the meeting. In the messages that Judge Waymack sent to the court employee, she identified herself as Jackie. Judge Waymack informed the court employee that the employee's mother had signed up to go to this meeting tomorrow for my nephew Joseph, and then asked, [i]s your mom still awake? Do you know if 2 she's going or if it's too late for my mom to call her? When the court employee informed Judge Waymack that her mother was on vacation, Judge Waymack responded, Serious? Well guess she won't be at the meeting then...Ok. Thanks! In Judge Waymack's answer to the Notice of formal charges, she admitted that she sent the referenced message to the court employee, and that when she sent that message her nephew was seeking his party's nomination to run for a seat in the House of Delegates. Judge Waymack denied, however, that the text message violated any Canons. Judge Waymack further denied that her intent in sending the message was to assist her nephew in obtaining the nomination.