C. Darren Tallman Admonished

C. Darren Tallman, a Wood County Family Court judge in West Virginia since 2003, was publicly admonished by the state Judicial Investigation Commission in a 6-1 vote after two separate complaints. The first, filed by a member of the public, concerned a Google profile photo Tallman used showing himself wearing a Bane villain mask over his judicial robes while in his own courtroom — a photo Tallman said he originally took as a joke for his sons during the COVID pandemic, though he later acknowledged it could give the wrong impression of judges.

The second complaint, filed by the Judicial Disciplinary Counsel itself, concerned a series of posts on Tallman's account on X (formerly Twitter), including a public endorsement of Donald Trump and opposition to Joe Biden during a presidential election, along with separate posts commenting on sexual orientation and gender.