CHARLESTON – There are lots of changes for 2024 at the state Supreme Court and Intermediate Court of Appeals.
Justice Tim Armstead became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on January 1. He takes over that rotating position from Justice Beth Walker. Justice Bill Wooton will serve as chief justice in 2025 and will act as chief justice this year if Armstead is disqualified from a case or is unable to serve.
Armstead previously was chief justice in 2020. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2018, and he was elected to finish out a term later that year before being re-elected to a 12-year term in 2020.
Scarr
| File photo
“I am honored that my colleagues have chosen me to be chief justice again,” Armstead said. “I thank Chief Justice Walker for the outstanding work she has done this year in enhancing the Court’s outreach and accessibility, particularly through establishing the West Virginia Judicial Learning Center.
“In the next year, I plan to continue her work in making our court more open to our citizens. I also intend to focus on issues related to the judiciary’s involvement in child abuse and neglect matters and the need to attract and retain qualified guardians ad litem who represent our most vulnerable children.”
Walker said she is proud of what the court accomplished in 2023.
“Under Chief Justice Armstead, the court will remain committed to transparency, accountability, and civics education,” Walker said.
At the Intermediate Court of Appeals, Judge Thomas Scarr will serve as chief judge in 2024. He takes over that position from Judge Dan Greear, who served as the first chief judge for the ICA in 2023. The third ICA judge, Charles Lorensen, will serve as chief judge in 2025.
The ICA’s chief judge has the responsibility of managing the day-to-day business of the court, including supervising employees and workflow, and ensuring compliance with all West Virginia judiciary policies.
“I commend Chief Judge Greear on his leadership during the ICA’s first 18 months of operation,” Scarr said. “The ICA’s docket is diverse and growing, and I look forward to leading the court through its second full year of operation.”
Greear said being the first ICA chief judge was “a unique honor.”
“We have worked hard to establish the facilities and processes the court uses to operate, and I have confidence that Judge Scarr and Judge Lorensen will continue to build upon that work and improve the way the court operates,” Greear said.
In addition, the former clerk for the Supreme Court and ICA has retired.
Edythe “Eydie” Nash Gaiser retired effective at the end of the year. Former Deputy Clerk C. Casey Forbes took over that position January 1, becoming the 16th person to serve as Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals since West Virginia was founded in 1863 and the second clerk of the Intermediate Court of Appeals since it was founded in 2022.
“I am honored and humbled to continue my public service as clerk of court,” Forbes said. “Eydie has done so much for the court system as clerk and has taught me so much over the years. We all wish her happiness in her next chapter.
“With my experience as deputy clerk and with the great staff at the Supreme Court of Appeals and Intermediate Court of Appeals, I am confident that this transition will be seamless.”
A Charleston native, Forbes has a bachelor’s degree in English from Shepherd University, a master’s degree in English from the College of Charleston, S.C., and a law degree from the Alexander Blewitt III School of Law at the University of Montana, where he was editor of the Public Land & Resources Law Review.
Forbes has worked in the clerk’s office since 2018. He previously was a staff attorney for the West Virginia Legislature, a law clerk in the Supreme Court Office of Counsel and an attorney in private practice, during which time he also served as a mental hygiene commissioner; and an assistant attorney general (20112012). He lives in Charleston with his wife and two children.
Gaiser said she is looking forward to retirement so she can spend time with her two adult sons and her first grandchild.
“It has been a privilege to serve as clerk the last six years,” Gaiser said. “It has been a time of tremendous change in the appellate court system. I had the unique opportunity to help establish and write rules for a new Intermediate Court of Appeals and to work on building the new West Virginia Judicial Learning Center.
“While there have been challenges, I have enjoyed this job more than any other I have had.”