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CHARLESTON — Supreme Court candidate Will Thompson wants to establish a family drug court if is elected in November.
Thompson, currently a circuit judge for Boone County, thinks West Virginia is one of only four states that does not have a family drug court.
"One of the biggest problems is our foster care problem, our abuse and neglect problem, the fact that so many of our families are affected by drug use and one of the things I really want to do is work on establishing a family drug court," Thompson said in an interview with The West Virginia Record. "Basically, what that is, is it uses the principles we use in the drug courts in West Virginia and transforms them into family issues where you have parents who are using drugs and not taking care of their children and give them an opportunity not only to get clean but give them the opportunity to keep the family together and do it in a much more efficient and better way."
Will Thompson
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Thompson said as a judge he has seen a lot of the problems the Supreme Court needs to address.
"The court system is overwhelmed by the abuse and neglect and the foster care children," he said. "The statistics are something like more than over 700,000 kids are in foster care. I think that number is much higher. That doesn’t take into account the kids that are not in the system that are being raised by grandparents because the grandparents stepped in without a court or state intervention."
Thompson said he has tried to start a family drug court for several years and was always told "no" by the Supreme Court. "If I’m there I am going to push really hard for a family drug court," Thompson said, noting there is a lack of transparency at the Supreme Court.
"I’m a circuit judge and I still don’t know why they do certain things," Thompson said. "I think it should be much more transparent."
He said his experience sets him apart from the other candidates in his division.
"There is no other candidate in Division 2 that has been a circuit court judge," Thompson said. "I’ve been a circuit court judge for quite a while and I’ve dealt with every kind of issue that I would deal with on the Supreme Court."
Thompson said serving as a judge it really changes a person.
"You are given a lot of power over people’s lives," he said. "Some people are able to adjust and handle that change and some people cannot. That’s something we see recently with the two justices now being convicted of federal felonies. They, basically, couldn’t handle the transition from lawyer to judge."
Thompson said what sets him apart is that he has already made that transition.
"While I have all of this experience, it’s now part of my personality already," Thompson said. "That’s not going to change. I’ve put on a black robe every day when I go to work so there’s not going to be any type of not being able to handle that awesome power that you are given."
Thompson said he is also running because he cares about the future of West Virginia, and the future of the state's children.
"I don’t think there is any candidate that is running that has done more for the children—and I’m not talking just about what I’ve done in the court system, I’m also talking about what I do in my private life," Thompson said. "I started football leagues and senior league baseball backing in my community. I’ve worked with churches to get them more involved in mentoring-type programs."
Thompson said he deeply cares about the children of West Virginia and part of that is because he is a parent.
"I see a lot of children who don’t have the advantages my children have and I want to give them those opportunities," Thompson said. "I truly believe if we give our children the best shot at having a childhood they will be more productive and better adults as they grow up."