CHARLESTON – Most people are eager to put 2020 behind them for obvious reasons.
But state Supreme Court Justice Evan Jenkins has one more reason to look forward to 2021.
Jenkins will serve as Chief Justice for the coming year. He says he is humbled by the opportunity and is looking forward to the challenge.
“It truly is an honor to be selected by your peers to lead the court and the judicial system,” Jenkins told The West Virginia Record. “It’s an enormous responsibility, but I’m very excited about the year ahead.”
Jenkins will take over as Chief Justice from Tim Armstead. The position normally rotates on a yearly basis. Justice John Hutchison will serve as Chief Justice in 2022. Hutchison will serve as Chief Justice in 2021 when Jenkins recuses himself from hearing certain matters before the court.
“I will continue Chief Justice Tim Armstead’s excellent work to ensure the courts of the state remain open and accessible during this unprecedented pandemic and Justice (Beth) Walker’s leadership in 2019 to champion the reforms that were so desperately needed at our state’s highest court,” Jenkins said. “We have done much in the last two years to restore confidence in our Supreme Court, and we will continue to work hard every day to earn the public’s trust.”
Armstead said serving as Chief Justice for 2020 was challenging.
“I appreciate very much my fellow justices’ friendship and cooperation and that of our dedicated court staff as well as judges throughout the state,” he said. “We have truly worked as a team. Our court system is made up of talented, resourceful and dedicated professionals who have proven they are up to the challenge.”
For 2021, Jenkins said it’s important to note the court still is recovering from the mistakes of the past.
“To fix the court, we first had to address issues internally,” he said. “For the last two years, we have made significant steps to make sure the problems in the past don’t happen again. We returned $10 million in unspent money back to the Legislature.
“We put policies in place to make sure the inappropriate actions and behavior don’t ever happen again. We went through our budget line by line and made significant cuts.”
Jenkins, who was appointed to the court in 2018 and elected that fall to serve the remainder of Justice Robin Jean Davis’ term through 2024 following her retirement, said the court has done a good job of fixing those problems internally for the past two years.
“During the year ahead, we have to continue that effort,” he said. “What that means is that we have to make sure that not only did we put the policies in place, but now we have to follow those policies.
The budget we just submitted to the governor’s office to submit to the Legislature is less than the amount the Legislature appropriated to the judicial branch five years ago. We continue to be fiscally responsible.”
Jenkins noted that the legislative auditor commended the court following a review of its recent accounting practices.
“And, let’s be honest, the legislative auditor doesn’t normally give out pats on the back,” he said. “They’re in the business of finding problems. So, that was nice.
“But, we need to continue making sure we are managing the operations of the court in a responsible way. We’re still in recovery. And just as important, we have to stay the course. We’re doing that by continuing to be fiscally responsible.”
Jenkins said the court will continue to strive to be more transparent and more accountable.
“We are giving the Legislature the absolute breakdown of all of the subcategories of our budget and the line items in each,” he said. “If lawmakers want to see how much we spend on, for example, mailing or drug testing of probationers or any category, they have that. That is part of our commitment to transparency and good government.”
Jenkins also said the court will continue to work to regain the public’s trust and confidence.
“This is one of the big issues I feel very strongly about,” he said. “A civil society is absolutely dependent on a judicial system having the public’s trust and confidence and knowing that it is fair, that it is impartial and without bias.
“We see, across our country, governmental institutions under attack. The judicial system is under attack as well. In the past, tragically, our Supreme Court had some self-inflicted wounds. But, we see in society, the courts are being challenged, too. The most obvious is what we saw in the partisan battles in Washington over the Supreme Court confirmation process. That’s just one indication of how institutions are being challenged. If the judicial system loses the public’s trust, we are in real trouble.”
Jenkins said he wants to focus on continuing to reestablish and reassure the public about the importance of the judicial system.
“The public has to have confidence that in any dispute, they have a judicial system they can turn to and get fair and just treatment,” he said.
Jenkins also noted a video series he started earlier this year called “And Justice For All” to help educate and inform the public about how the judicial system works. He said Walker also has a national podcast she initiated with other female Supreme Court Justices across the country called Lady Justices.
“Both are positive and have valuable information about the judicial system,” Jenkins said. “We will continue to be transparent, not only with the Legislature but with the public.”
As for dealing with COVID-19 issues, Jenkins said he thinks there finally is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“It appears that over the next few months, one of my chief responsibilities will be working with the governor’s office as vaccines become available to get our frontline court employees vaccinated,” Jenkins said. “Many folks don’t realize the judicial system has almost 1,500 employees. We are in every courthouse in every county. We have hundreds of probation officers who are monitoring more than 10,000 people on probation throughout the state.
“Court employees have significant contact with the public. They are the front line of providing our services.”
He said the court was forced to do business in different ways during the pandemic. That included a significant investment in technology.
“That includes things such as providing iPhones to every magistrate in West Virginia so we could have the same platforms and apps to allow video capability so, in an emergency matter such as a domestic violence situation, we could get work done,” Jenkins said. “Through technology and equipment, we made significant investments in courtroom video capabilities and equipment for the magistrate and circuit and family courts around the state.
“Moving forward, we want to be able to use that in ways that we have now found increase efficiency in the system. We don’t want that investment to go to waste. We want to use it moving forward.”
Jenkins also said the court hopes to institute e-filing at the state Supreme Court level.
“We have applied for and received a grant to initiate the process to allow e-filing in the workers’ compensation cases,” he said. “As you know, several hundred workers’ compensation appeals are filed each year with the Supreme Court. The cost and the administrative hassles both for the lawyer and the clerk’s office level could be reduced significantly with e-filing.
“We have just received word of that grant approval, so we are starting this process to improve efficiency and reduce costs.”
He also said a pilot program for remote filing of domestic violence petitions will begin soon.
“We are working with crisis centers and domestic violence shelters in several counties to install the video equipment at the centers and shelters to allow that connection to the magistrate for the filing of a DVP so the victim does not have to personally go to the courthouse and appear in person in front of the magistrate to fill out the petition,” Jenkins said. “There can be so many risks associated with that.
“But because of this investment in technology we’ve made because of COVID, we know remote access to the courts means we actually can do things in a more efficient manner and, at the same time, improve safety. Video conference capability would not be limited to the initial DVP filing in magistrate court either. That system could be used with the follow-up appearance where all parties are involved with the family court judge.”
Jenkins also said he wants to more fully embrace the specialty court programs already in place.
“We have adult drug court, juvenile drug court, family treatment court and military service members court,” he said. “The court today has been very supportive and committed to the specialty court program. We are in the early stages with several counties having family treatment courts, but we are seeing very encouraging results.
“Remember, this is an effort to keep families together in a safe and nurturing environment. So, we will continue to support the family treatment court and all specialty court initiatives.”
Jenkins said the court also wants to continue to seek ways to improve the state’s foster care system, which currently has more than 5,000 children.
“The court plays a significant role, and we will continue to work with the Legislature on that … not as an advocate driving a policy agenda, but as a resource to make sure the way in which the system works is as supportive of our most valuable resource in West Virginia, which is our youth,” Jenkins said. “I care deeply about their well-being and always have been passionate about trying to provide the best possible future for our children.”
When he was appointed to the court, Jenkins was a member of the United States House of Representatives, to which he was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2016. For four years he served on the House Appropriations Committee and most recently as the Vice-Chairman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Sub-Committee.
He previously served three terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates, being elected in 1994, 1996 and 1998, representing Cabell and Wayne counties, followed by being elected to three terms in the West Virginia Senate, in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
Before his election to Congress, he was executive director of the West Virginia State Medical Association, general counsel of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and taught business law at Marshall University.
Jenkins was admitted to the practice of law in West Virginia in 1988 and began his legal career as an associate attorney with the law firm of Jenkins Fenstermaker in his native Huntington.
He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida and a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Jenkins and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Huntington where they raised two sons and a daughter.
His prior community service has included leadership positions in many community organizations and he was a founder and initial board president of Lily’s Place, a nationally recognized facility that cares for newborn infants suffering from drug exposure during pregnancy.
