CHARLESTON – The start of the state’s newly created Intermediate Court of Appeals still is nearly 10 months away, but applications are being accepted for the three judicial positions.
The state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission now is accepting applications for the three spots. The deadline to apply is October 11.
After that, the JVAC will conduct interviews before submitting a list of recommendations to Gov. Jim Justice’s office. Justice can appoint judges from the JVAC list or make his own selections. The interviews likely will take place in November and December.
The three judges appointed by Justice will serve staggered terms. The first will be replaced by a judge elected in 2024, the second by a judge elected in 2026 and the third by a judge elected in 2028. Like other judges in the state, the positions are nonpartisan. Those applying for the positions must select which seat they are seeking.
The terms are for 10 years, and the salary for the three judges is $142,500 a year.
The candidates must be a resident of West Virginia for at least five years and a member of the State Bar for 10 years with at least five years of experience.
On April 8, Justice signed Senate Bill 275 establishing the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The idea for such a court has been discussed for more than 10 years. The state Senate had passed similar legislation several times in recent years, but the House of Delegates never was on board until this session. Justice had pushed for the bill during his annual State of the State address.
The passed version of the bill called for only one district and trimmed the estimated initial budget from nearly $8 million to about $3.6 million and the continuing annual cost from about $5.7 million to $2.1 million.
The new court will review civil cases between the circuit court and Supreme Court. It also will review workers’ comp cases and final orders from family courts.
JVAC Chairwoman Susan Brewer told MetroNews the commission wants to give applicants a 30-day window to apply. It met virtually earlier this week to finalize the application. The governor’s office formally opened the application process September 9.
“Once we know the volume of candidates we can reconvene and discuss how we want to do the interview process,” Brewer told MetroNews, saying she hopes the interviews can be done in person. “We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed. Obviously in-person interviews are way better, but we’ll just have to decide that when the time comes.”