CHARLESTON – State Supreme Court Justice Robin Jean Davis said the majority has continued to ignore the plain language of West Virginia code in a recent opinion.
CHARLESTON – Two West Virginia attorneys have had their law licenses suspended and one has been annulled, according to three press releases issued by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia could see a quick return to the Judicial Hellholes report if Darrell McGraw is elected to the state Supreme Court, according to a spokesman for the group that compiles the list. “I’d tell Darrell not to embarrass himself,” said Darren McKinney, spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association, said Monday about McGraw’s filing to run for the court.
CHARLESTON – It’s just a few weeks into his second stint as chief justice, but Menis Ketchum already has had a busy year. The justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals already have ruled in a case that determined the balance of the state Senate. He’s had to watch the weather to decide whether to keep the court offices open through winter storm Jonas. He’s had to prepare a budget report for both houses of the state Legislature. And that’s on top of the day-to-day functioning of the s
CHARLESTON – State Supreme Court Justice Robin Jean Davis says the majority was wrong in interpreting a state law that allowed a Republican to fill a vacant state Senate seat. In her dissent filed Jan. 27, Davis said last week’s 3-1 ruling that gave former state Sen. Daniel Hall’s seat to the GOP was unconstitutional.
CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that the circuit court erred in its decision to not credit State Farm for an advance payment.
Dear Editor: Last week, Emma Gallimore interviewed me by phone for a story in The West Virginia Record. I wanted to clarify a few things in the story. These clarifications are important to emphasize the collegial nature of judging in a multi-judge circuit and the equal responsibilities shared by all seven circuit judges and every circuit judge in our state.
CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court has ruled that the vacant state Senate seat in the headlines for the last two weeks should be filled by a Republican. The Justices issued their opinion Jan. 22, rejecting the writ filed by Democrats who argued it should be filled by a member of their party because former state Senator Daniel Hall was a Democrat when he was elected in 2012.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Justice Menis Ketchum asked the House and Senate to repeal three bills during budget hearings before their finance meetings. Ketchum, along with Justice Allen Loughry, attended the Jan. 18 meetings to discuss the state Supreme Court budget.
WHEELING – J.R. Clifford was West Virginia’s first black attorney and a civil rights pioneer. The Williams case represents an early and significant win in the civil rights movement, predating Brown v. Board of Education by over 50 years.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed over the process of filling a vacancy in the state’s Ninth Senatorial District has been granted, and the state Supreme Court hearing is set for Jan. 19. “We filed a motion to allow the State of West Virginia to intervene in the Ninth Senatorial District ballot vacancy case so that the opinion of the Attorney General may be properly considered by the West Virginia Supreme Court,” Morrisey said i
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a motion Jan. 12 to intervene in a lawsuit filed over the process of filling a vacancy in the state’s Ninth Senatorial District. “Today, we filed a motion to allow the State of West Virginia to intervene in the Ninth Senatorial District ballot vacancy case so that the opinion of the Attorney General may be properly considered by the West Virginia Supreme Court,” Morrisey said in a statement. “In our formal legal opinion, we con
CHARLESTON — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says he would appoint a Democrat to fill the seat of a Republican state Senator who resigned, but he wants the state Supreme Court to determine which party will get the seat. Tomblin’s legal team filed a response Jan. 11 to a writ of prohibition filed Jan. 8 by the West Virginia Democratic Party.
CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Democratic Party filed a writ of prohibition with the state Supreme Court against Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appointing a replacement for a recently retired state senator. Republican state Senator Daniel Hall resigned Jan. 4 to take a job as a state liaison for the National Rifle Association.
CHARLESTON – A preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging West Virginia’s Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium was denied, citing lack of evidence. Angela Summers and Fred Dailey, who were represented by Thomas More Law Center; John Sauer of the James Otis Law Group; and Jeff Kimble and E.
CHARLESTON – A Charleston attorney has given notice to state officials that he is challenging the state’s guidelines that would cut the amount attorneys are paid for their time spent in court-appointed cases. Anthony Majestro of Powell & Majestro sent notice on behalf of attorneys and law firms that take court-appointed cases. Majestro will file a petition for a writ of mandamus with the West Virginia Supreme Court against the state’s Public Defender Services. The petition will ask the court
CHARLESTON – The Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has set the interest rate at 7.00 percent for judgments and decrees entered during the 2016 calendar year. A law passed in the 2006 legislative session requires the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court annually to determine the interest rate to be paid upon judgments or decrees for the payment of money, including pre-judgment interest. The law, West Virginia Code 56-6-31, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2
CHARLESTON – Menis Ketchum will become Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court for 2016. He previously served as Chief Justice in 2012. Ketchum was elected to a full 12-year term on the Court in 2008.
CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court of Appeals reversed a decision by Kanawha Circuit Court to suspend the occupational permit of seven jockeys for 30 days and imposed a fine of $1,000 to each of them for violating a rule governing horse racing. “After review of the circuit court’s order, the assignments of error, the applicable law, and pertinent portions of the appendix, for the reasons stated below, we reverse the circuit court’s order,” the recent opinion states.
