John Paul Riggs Admonished

John Paul Riggs, who served as a Pleasants County, West Virginia magistrate from 2021 until his resignation on October 2, 2023, was publicly admonished by the state Judicial Investigation Commission for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct following his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol on December 7, 2022. Riggs was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond after the arrest. The Commission found the violations serious enough to warrant public admonishment despite noting several mitigating factors: Riggs fully cooperated with the disciplinary investigation, readily admitted wrongdoing, sought treatment through the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and resigned from his position of his own accord before the Commission issued its order.