West Virginia Supreme Court
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State Supreme Courts
1900 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25305
Recent News About West Virginia Supreme Court
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CHARLESTON – West Virginia’s Secretary of State is praising the state Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate public campaign finance money to two Supreme Court candidates. As Secretary of State, Natalie Tennant is a member of the State Election Commission. That’s the panel that earlier this month awarded more than $500,000 each to the campaigns of sitting Justice Brent Benjamin and former state lawmaker Bill Wooton.
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CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court says the Supreme Court campaigns of Brent Benjamin and Bill Wooton should get about $500,000 each in public campaign financing money. The orders were issued just hours after five replacement justices heard oral arguments in the matters.
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CHARLESTON – The fate of about $1 million in public campaign finance money for two state Supreme Court candidates now rests with five judges. The state Supreme Court on March 23 heard oral arguments in candidate Beth Walker’s challenges to the campaigns for sitting Justice Brent Benjamin and Beckley attorney Bill Wooton. Five sitting judges – filling in for all of the justices who recused themselves from the case – heard two hours of arguments.
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HUNTINGTON – West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Menis Ketchum II will give the address at Marshall University’s graduation in May. The commencement ceremony for undergraduates is set for Saturday, May 7. “I am extremely honored that our new president extended me the invitation to speak at commencement,” Ketchum said. “Candidates for graduation are not interested in speeches but want to celebrate their accomplishment.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has affirmed a circuit court’s decision confirming the arbitration award in a lawsuit filed nearly six years ago. The petitioner, Ryan Cunningham, appeals from the November 2, 2011, order of Kanawha Circuit Court confirming an arbitration award and entering judgment on that award.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals said the Town of Granville did not go against state code when it adopted an ordinance regarding mobile homes and house trailers. Patrick Russell and Sylvia Smith appealed a March 30, 2015, order by Monongalia Circuit Court in which the court found that the Town of Granville had authority to adopt an ordinance regulating the placement of mobile homes and house trailers, according to a March 15 opinion.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has issued an order stating that Troy Sexton cannot run for Putnam County magistrate.
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CHARLESTON – Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna I. Tabit has been appointed to the state’s Business Court Division. She replaces 11th Judicial Circuit Judge James J. Rowe, who retired Feb. 29. Tabit said she was very honored to be chosen to fill Rowe’s seat. “I’ve got some big shoes to fill,” she said. “I am so excited about getting business cases and I’m looking forward to the work.”
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CHARLESTON – All five state Supreme Court justices have recused themselves from hearing appeals regarding the public campaign finance of two candidates for the court. On March 9, Chief Justice Menis Ketchum appointed Senior Status Judge Thomas H. Keadle to serve as acting chief justice in the appeals of incumbent Justice Brent Benjamin and former state lawmaker Bill Wooton. Beth Walker, another Supreme Court candidate, argued neither of them should have received public finance money from the Sta
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“[T]he public financing of elections – for judgeships or any other positions – is a boondoggle we all should deplore.” That's what we wrote six years ago in an editorial opposing Gov. Joe Manchin's proposal of a public financing pilot project for the two state Supreme Court seats to be contested in the 2012 election.
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CHARLESTON – For five years, West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Menis Ketchum has been working on a project to make jury instructions easier for a lay jury to understand.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled to suspend a Morgantown attorney’s law license and has also ordered other sanctions for him. The Supreme Court imposed a one-year suspension of Thorn H. Thorn’s law license and adopted other sanctions recommended by the Hearing Panel Subcommittee, according to the March 3 opinion.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that a state trooper and prosecutor do not have to return seized property because the petitioner failed to secure an order directing the return of the property. Pristine Pre-Owned Auto appealed the Mineral Circuit Court’s order denying its complaint seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the return of items seized by West Virginia State Police Trooper M.L. Travelpiece in his execution of a search warrant at Pristine’s business premi
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CHARLESTON – State Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin shouldn’t have received public campaign finance money for his re-election campaign, a Kanawha County judge has ruled. Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman ruled March 4 that the State Election Commission was “clearly erroneous” in deciding Benjamin’s campaign was eligible for public financing. In a statement Friday, Benjamin said he still thinks the SEC was correct in issuing the funds to his campaign. And he hinted at an appeal to the state S
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated and remanded a 2015 arbitration ruling back to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled in the case of Schumacher Homes Inc. v. Spencer. In it, the Justices said the delegation provision in an arbitration clause does not clearly or unmistakably reflect an intention by the parties to assign to the arbitrator all questions about the enforceability of the clause.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce PAC is endorsing Beth Walker for the state Supreme Court.
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CHARLESTON – A Kanawha Circuit Court judge says he will rule soon in a case over the $525,000 in campaign finance money awarded to state Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin. Beth Walker, one of Benjamin’s opponents, filed a lawsuit saying Benjamin didn’t meet all of the requirements to receive the money. In a hearing Friday, Walker attorney Thomas Ryan said Benjamin’s re-election campaign missed deadlines for filing the application for certification and a report of exploratory campaign contribu
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CHARLESTON – A new poll shows former state Attorney General Darrell McGraw is leading in his bid for a second stint on the state Supreme Court. The poll, conducted by Orion Strategies and released Feb. 25, shows McGraw with the support of 25 percent of registered voters. Incumbent Justice Brent Benjamin comes in at 10 percent, while Beth Walker and Bill Wooton are at 4 percent each. Wayne King has 2 percent.
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CHARLESTON – State Supreme Court candidate Beth Walker has filed a petition to stop incumbent Justice Brent Benjamin from spending $525,000 in public campaign financing in his quest to retain a seat on the bench. The money was awarded to Benjamin’s campaign after the State Election Commission certified earlier this month that he had qualified for the funding under West Virginia election law.
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WASHINGTON — A national group and a state group both are praising a recently passed piece of legislation that would bring West Virginia in line with other states regarding the legal responsibility of drug manufacturers. Senate Bill 15 would adopt the intermediary doctrine as a defense to civil action due to lack of warnings or instructions. The bill now awaits Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's signature.
