Judicial Inquiry & Review Comm'n v. Waymack, 745 S.E.2d 410

Commission filed formal charges against Judge Waymack for violating Canons 1, 2, 2B, and 5A(3); the allegations concern text messages and a courtroom appearance in 2011; prior misconduct from 2004–2007 is referenced but contested as legally relevant; Court conducted an open-hearing de novo review with clear and convincing standard; conclusion: no clear and convincing evidence of misconduct or prejudicial conduct, and complaint dismissed.
Judge Waymack allegedly texted a court employee to assist her nephew's political nomination; messaging was personal with no stated political content or understood political purpose.
Waymack attended a Brenzie hearing with a friend, sat in back, and left when asked, asserting she acted as a public observer and not as a witness; Commission argued appearance of impropriety, but court deferred to lack of egregious conduct.
Prior misconduct history from 2004–2007 was argued by Waymack to be irrelevant to current charges; court did not rely on it to determine the outcome.
The Commission held there was clear evidence supporting violations; the court independently reviewed and found no violations; ultimately, the complaint was dismissed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether text messages violated Canons	Waymack: messages were innocuous and not intended to influence	Waymack: messages lacked political purpose and no prestige used	No clear and convincing evidence of Canon violation
Whether attending Brenzie hearing violated Canons	Waymack: attended as public observer, not witness	Commission: attendance created appearance of impropriety	Not a canonical violation; no misconduct or prejudicial conduct established
Whether prior misconduct history was relevant	Waymack: prior record irrelevant to current charges	Commission: relevant to character and pattern	Prior misconduct not needed to sustain current charges; dismissed on merits

Judicial Inquiry & Review Comm'n v. Lewis, 264 Va. 401 (Va. 2002) (clear and convincing standard, de novo review by Court)
Judicial Inquiry & Review Comm'n v. Peatross, 269 Va. 428 (Va. 2005) (independent record review; standards of proof in Commission proceedings)