CHARLESTON – The state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission has named applicants for three circuit judge positions.
The JVAC will conduct interviews Jan. 23 for the vacancy in the 10th Circuit, which is Raleigh County. The position is vacant after Gov. Jim Justice appointed John Hutchison to the state Supreme Court last month.
The applicants are James Adkins, Marie Bechtel, Michael Froble, J. Victor Flanagan, Darl Wesley Poling, Clyde Smith Jr., Thomas Truman, Chip Williams and Russell Wooton.
Retired judge Charles M. Vickers will fill Hutchison’s seat in Raleigh County until Justice appoints a replacement, according to a Dec. 28 order signed by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Workman.
The JVAC also will have interviews for openings on the 17th Circuit, which is Monongalia County, and the 23rd Circuit, which is Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties. Those interviews will take place Jan. 31 in Morgantown.
The applicants for the Monongalia position are De’Andra N. Burton, Peter Dinardi, Krista Marinaro, Cindy Scott, Debra Scudiere, Michael Simms and Jennifer Tampoya. The position is open because of the impending retirement of Circuit Judge Russell Clawges.
The applicants for the Eastern Panhandle judgeship are David Camilletti, Nicholas Colvin, Anthony Delligatti, Christine Glover, Stephen Groh, Joseph Kinser and Debra McLaughlin. That position is vacant because of the impending retirement of Circuit Judge Chris Wilkes.
Scudiere is the chairwoman of the JVAC. She recused herself from this round of interviews.
The JVAC sends the governor a list of names it recommends for the vacancies. The governor then can choose a name from the list or choose someone else.
“It certainly is a busy month for the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission,” Scudiere told The West Virginia Record previously about the January schedule. “However, to a person, the members of the commission take their duties seriously and work together to set these application and interview schedules quickly.
“The commission’s goal is to assist the governor in putting qualified candidates on the bench in West Virginia, and I am always proud of our commissioners for putting a lot of good effort into achieving that goal.”
All three of those appointments also will serve through the 2020 primary election. The candidates who win those election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term through 2024.