Menis Ketchum

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Results of all contested 2008 state Supreme Court elections


Supreme Court of Appeals
Sitting Justices
Joseph Albright
Brent Benjamin
Robin Jean Davis
"Spike" Maynard
Larry Starcher
2008 challengers
Margaret Workman
Elizabeth "Beth" Walker
Menis Ketchum
Former justices
West Virginia on Judgepedia

Contents

Menis Ketchum, a Democrat, is currently running for a spot on the West Virginia Supreme Court. On May 13, 2008, Ketchum, along with Margaret Workman and Republican candidate Elizabeth "Beth" Walker beat out Bob Bastress and sitting Justice "Spike" Maynard for a spot on the November ballot.

2008 General Election results

On November 4, Democrats Menis Ketchum and Margaret Workman won seats on the Supreme Court. With all 1,887 precincts reporting, Ketchum received 353,293 votes and Workman garnered 333,254 votes. Republican Beth Walker received 327,084 votes. Each candidate will serve a 12-year term.[1]

Legal Education and Experience

Ketchum graduated from Ohio University in 1964. He then received his Juris Doctor from West Virginia University in 1967, where he served as a contributing writer and Associate Editor. Upon graduation, Ketchum started working at Greene, Ketchum & Baker. He has spent more than 40 years at the firm, focusing on insurance defense, maritime law, and the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). He has been a Senior Partner since 1980. [2]

Judicial philosophy

Personal injury lawyer and 2008 West Virginia Supreme Court candidate Menis Ketchum
Personal injury lawyer and 2008 West Virginia Supreme Court candidate Menis Ketchum

"My judicial philosophy is really quite simple," said Ketchum, in the West Virginia Record. "I believe it is the function of judges to even-handedly apply the law rather than to make the law. If I'm fortunate enough to be elected, I want to be known as a fair-minded Justice who puts the law before politics or ideology. I will do my best to see that our citizens and corporations receive equal treatment before the court and that criminals - especially violent ones - receive the punishment they deserve. I want to be a fair judge to all of the people."[3]

Associations and Awards

Menis Ketchum has been recognized continuously since 1989 in The Best Lawyers in America, is a former member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a former member of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).[4]

2008 Campaign

Ketchum bemoans campaign costs

Ketchum told the Charleston Daily Mail that he resents the role money plays in judicial elections. Aside from suggesting that the state begin to finance the campaigns, he asserted that one of his opponents, Elizabeth "Beth" Walker has a monetary advantage, since she married Mike Walker of the Walker Machinery family. "I resent having to spend a half-million dollars of my children's money. I didn't marry rich. I made mine," Ketchum told the paper's editors.

However, Ketchum lent his own campaign $390,000--nearly four times what Walker raised as she advanced to the general election. (For a more in-depth review of Ketchum's finances, see the "Campaign contributions" section below.)

In response, Walker issued a call to civility, saying:

"I am committed to a respectful discussion of the future of our court system in West Virginia. I am disappointed that Mr. Ketchum has resorted to personal attacks that do not promote a serious dialogue about the real issues."

Legal reform group Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse came to Walker's aid, criticizing Ketchum for comparing his need to advertise his legal services to being able to eat. "Since Ketchum has had the luxury of spending nearly half a million of his own money on a personal quest, we seriously doubt he relates the struggles faced by many West Virginians of having 'to eat,'" CALA executive director Steve Cohen said. "But that's typical personal injury lawyer greed for you. Ketchum's comments are just further proof that he will tell everyone what they want to hear - whether it is true or not."[5]

Campaign contributions

In the race for West Virginia Supreme Court, Ketchum has raised $787,748 as of August 15, 2008. He provided $490,000 of this funding himself. Lawyers and Lobbyists make up the second largest industry in giving, at $101,121, or 12.8% of the total.[6]

Ketchum has received ample financial support from various law firms across the state. Other notable donations have come from the following unions, PACs, and state officials:[7]

In his 1st primary report filed in April 2008, Ketchum's campaign finance records show he had two outstanding bills totaling $3,518.42--divided between The Printing Press and Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack.

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Calls Out Ketchum

Supreme Court hopeful Menis Ketchum will alter his well-known "In a wreck? Get a check!" television ads to denote his Supreme Court candidacy; the decision triggered an op-ed in the Herald Dispatch by the state's Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse organization. Steven Cohen, executive director with the group hammered out a barrage of instances where candidate Ketchum will have a hard time eluding voter scrutiny, regardless of clever adds that also remind them they are looking at a candidate for the state's highest court:

This is the Menis Ketchum who said he would not wage a negative campaign, but ran TV spots fabricating a federal probe of an incumbent justice. This is the Menis Ketchum who told newspaper readers vacation photos of an incumbent justice "threatens the integrity of the West Virginia judicial system," but told a broadcast audience it "doesn't bother me." This is the Menis Ketchum who said he would protect medical malpractice caps at the same time his law firm was fighting them. This is the Menis Ketchum who told a professional society he is "conservative" but told a newspaper reporter he is "moderate". This is the Menis Ketchum who claimed only one other lawyer in the state filed more cases before the Supreme Court, an assertion comparable to gunfire on the tarmac in Bosnia. This is the Menis Ketchum who ran campaign commercials with uniformed police officers, said he "didn't know the law," vowed to pull the ads but kept them on the air.[8]

Candidate's Law Firm Tied to Healthcare Obstruction

Ketchum's law practice has been tied to efforts to fight recently enacted laws that have been designed to keep West Virginia emergency rooms and traumas centers open and "prevent doctors from going out of state to establish their practices."[9]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Supreme Court results
  2. ↑ Menis Ketchum's bio
  3. ↑ West Virginia Record
  4. ↑ Menis Ketchum's bio
  5. ↑ Ketchum catching flak for comments
  6. ↑ Follow the Money: Menis Ketchum
  7. ↑ Ketchum's Campaign Finance Reports
  8. ↑ Cohen: Ketchum is McGraw-style trial lawyer
  9. ↑ WV CALA warns of 'trickery' in search for medical help
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