CHARLESTON – William R. “Bill” Wooton will be sworn in December 30 as a West Virginia Supreme Court Justice.
The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Supreme Court chambers at the state Capitol. Although invitations were previously extended, because of the COVID Pandemic, the ceremony will now be held virtually by webcast. To protect the health and safety of everyone involved, the public and previously invited guests will not be admitted to participate in person. Those previously invited may participate remotely by tuning in to the live webcast on the West Virginia Judiciary YouTube Channel.
Wooton was elected June 9 to the seat being vacated by Justice Margaret Workman, who is retiring effective December 31. He is a native of Raleigh County and was educated in Raleigh County public schools. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Marshall University and a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law, where he was editor-in-Chief of the West Virginia Law Review, Order of the Coif, and graduated at the top of his class.
He was a law clerk for the Honorable John A. Field Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1971 to 1972, was an assistant West Virginia Attorney General from 1972 to 1974 and an Assistant Raleigh County Prosecutor from 1974 to 1977. He practiced law in Beckley with the firm Wooton, Wooton & Fragile from 1977 until 1994, with The Wooton Law Firm from 1994 until 2014, and Wooton & Wooton, Attorneys at Law, from 2014 through this year.
Justice-elect Wooton served in the West Virginia Legislature for 26 years. He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1977 through 1986, from 1989 to 1990 and from 2009 to 2010. He served as House Majority Leader from 1985 to 1986. He served in the West Virginia Senate from 1991 through 2002 and was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 10 years.
In addition to legislative service, he served more than 30 years in the United States Army Reserve and the West Virginia Army National Guard, where he retired as a Colonel. He was a longtime member of the Beckley Rotary Club and the Beckley/Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, and he has been a Beckley Little League coach.
Justice-elect Wooton is a permanent member of the Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit and a West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow. He and his wife, Shir, live in Beckley. They have three adult sons and five grandchildren.
Also, on December 28, Brittany Ranson Stonestreet will be sworn in as Kanawha County’s newest Family Court Judge in a ceremony at noon in the state Supreme Court chambers. Retiring state Supreme Court Justice Margaret L. Workman, who was the first woman to be elected to a statewide office and to the Supreme Court, will administer the oath. Special remarks will be made by former Kanawha County Family Court Judge Mike Kelly.
Due to COVID social-distancing requirements, the Stonestreet ceremony will be private and will be broadcast on Facebook Live.
Gov. Jim Justice appointed Stonestreet to the vacancy left by the December 4 retirement of Judge R. Joseph Zak. She has practiced family law for 10 years at Lyne Ranson Law Offices in Charleston. She has served as Chairwoman of the Alimony Committee for the national American Bar Association’s Family Law Section since 2016. She is co-author of the 2015 book "Divorce in West Virginia: The Legal Process, Your Rights, and What to Expect."
Stonestreet is a native of Charleston and graduate of Capital High School. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University, where she also minored in political science and business administration. She is a 2010 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, where she served as class president, was a member of the moot court board and M.E. Lugar Trial Association and was named to the prestigious Order of the Barristers.
She and her husband Matthew Stonestreet, who is a consumer rights attorney at Giatras Law Firm, live in Charleston with their twin daughters.
