JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Dec. 12 -- The Missouri Supreme Court announced late Monday it had impeached suspended Secretary of State Judith Moriarty, making her removal from office permanent. Moriarty's impeachment trial in the Supreme Court ended last Friday.
The Missouri House had impeached her in October, when she was suspended from office with pay. The Supreme Court's seven judges unanimously voted to approve the articles of impeachment passed by the House, court officials said. Five of the seven judges were required to find Moriarty guilty for her to be impeached. In September, a jury found Moriarty guilty of violating the state election law. The articles of impeachment considered by the House and the Supreme Court concerned much of the same evidence. Moriarty was found guilty of backdating paperwork to help her son, Timothy Moriarty, file as a candidate for the House after the filing deadline passed in March. Judith Moriarty still is appealing the jury's verdict and is awaiting sentencing on that conviction. After Moriarty's suspension in October, Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed Richard Hanson to serve as interim secretary of state until a permanent replacement can be chosen. Moriarty was elected in 1992, becoming the first woman ever to hold the office. Her impeachment in the Supreme Court was the first in state history.