Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
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The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the highest court in the State of West Virginia. It is located in the state capital, Charleston, West Virginia.
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Background
Although the West Virginia Constitution allows for an intermediate court of appeals to be created, the Supreme Court currently provides the only appellate review of the decisions of lower trial courts (called "circuit courts").
The five Supreme Court justices hear appeals of decisions over all matters decided in the circuit courts, including criminal convictions affirmed on appeal from magistrate court and appeals from administrative agencies. Workers’ compensation appeals are unique, and are appealed directly to the Supreme Court from the administrative agency. The Supreme Court justices also hear appeals of decisions decided in family court if both parties agree that they will not appeal directly to the circuit court.
There are two terms of the Court each year. The first term begins on the second Tuesday in January and ends in July. The second term begins on the first Wednesday in September and ends in December. The time period between terms is called "sine die," which is Latin for "without day." When the Court is in session, the justices hear cases and deliver opinions. At other times, the justices consider the emergency business that comes before the Court. In addition to its judicial functions, the Supreme Court of Appeals has administrative and regulatory responsibilities. The Court has adopted a Code of Judicial Conduct, Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law, Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Procedure and Rules of Lawyer Disciplinary Procedure.[1]
Justices
The justices of the court are elected to twelve-year terms by staggered, state-wide, partisan elections. In 2004 the State Bar Association was tasked with considering several reform proposals to limit the political nature of the court. It will issue a report before the next election in 2008.
Current composition
Justices as of 2007 are:
The Chief Justiceship is a rotating office, which usually changes from one Justice to another each year.
The seats currently held by Chief Justice Maynard and Starcher are up for election in 2008.
See the West Virginia Supreme Court elections page for more details.
On December 20, 2007, Justice Starcher announced that he would not seek another term on the Court. On the May 13, 2008 primary, Maynard lost his re-election bid to Democrat challengers Margaret Workman (a former Justice of the court) and Menis Ketchum; Elizabeth "Beth" Walker is the lone Republican candidate.
Funding
1996-2000
According to Robert S. Greenberger of The Wall Street Journal, "At least $750,000 of the $1.6 million in campaign funds raised from 1996 to 2000 by the state Supreme Court's five sitting justices came from plaintiffs lawyers."[2]
Op ed encourages legal study
In a Metro News op-ed titled "We can figure this out," lawyers for the Peyton Law Firm advocate commissioning a disinterested firm to study how West Virginia could improve its judicial system. The editorial bemoans the two great factions influencing judicial operations--the plaintiffs' bar and big business--as well as the lack of appeals courts.
Using the 2008 West Virginia Supreme Court election for the backdrop, the editorial criticizes the recent move by two special interest groups to attempt to convince federal judges to throw out election laws in order to attack candidates with anonymity. It goes on to assert this year's election will do little to change the fact that "Ideology has largely replaced qualifications as a defining characteristic for court candidates."[3]
2008 Election
See the West Virginia Supreme Court elections page for more details.
- State bar hears from Supreme Court candidates
- State Supreme Court race was the priciest primary
- Discussion of influence of money on the race
- WV Law on disclosing funding information of political ads struck down
See Also
External Links
- West Virginia Supreme Court Official Site
- Fringe Tactics: Special Interest Groups Target Judicial Races
- Report analyzes economic effect of W.Va. SC
References
Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.
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