PINEVILLE – Wyoming Circuit Judge Warren McGraw is retiring from the bench, ending more than 50 years of public service.
McGraw, 82, told The Register-Herald newspaper he has submitted his resignation letter to Gov. Jim Justice and the state Supreme Court. The Beckley newspaper also reported McGraw is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.
“It is with great regret and sadness that … I just retire as circuit judge of the 27th Judicial Circuit,” McGraw wrote. “It has become too difficult to fulfill the duties of Judge in this great state of West Virginia.”
Warren R. McGraw
| courtswv.gov
He said June 21 will be his last day of work. West Virginia Day is June 20, but is being celebrated June 21 – a Monday – this year.
During his political career, McGraw also served as a member of the House of Delegates, the state Senate and the state Supreme Court as well as the Wyoming County Board of Education and as Wyoming County’s prosecuting attorney. He was Senate president from 1980 to 1985, and he served as Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court in 2001.
“Judge McGraw has dedicated his life to serving the people of West Virginia,” current Chief Justice Evan Jenkins said. “I’m saddened to learn of his health concerns and truly wish him the very best.
“I’m sure his decision to resign was a difficult one, but he did so knowing it was in the best interest of the important work he does each and every day as a judge.”
Justice Bill Wooton agreed.
“Warren McGraw is a skilled lawyer and jurist with a lifetime of public service, including two terms as president of the West Virginia Senate and a Supreme Court Justice,” said Wooton, who also served in the Legislature. “It is sad news that my long-term friend will be stepping down from the bench of the Circuit Court in his beloved Wyoming County.
“That he will do so on West Virginia Day is most fitting, as he is truly a great West Virginian and a part of West Virginia history. I wish he and his wife Peggy all the best in their well-earned retirement.”
After serving as a delegate and state Senator, McGraw ran for governor in 1984. He lost in the primary, but later was elected to the Wyoming County school board and then was elected prosecutor. In 1998, he won an election to finish out an unexpired term on the Supreme Court.
In 2004, he was part of one of the most hotly contested races in state history.
McGraw was challenged by Brent Benjamin for the Supreme Court seat, and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship created a political action committee called “And For the Sake of the Kids” to oppose McGraw’s re-election. During a speech at a Labor Day rally, McGraw saw a political operative in the crowd. His reaction became known as “The Scream at Racine,” and it was used in campaign ads against him by Blankenship’s PAC.
Benjamin defeated McGraw, who again went back to Wyoming County and was elected circuit judge in 2008 and 2016.
McGraw graduated from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in 1960, and he earned his law degree in 1963 from Wake Forest University. He and his wife Peggy have three children and six grandchildren. His brother Darrell McGraw also served on the state Supreme Court for 12 years and as state Attorney General for 20 years.