The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals voted to designate Tim Armstead as chief justice for 2024. The change is part of a yearly rotation of the position between the five justices. Armstead has 10 years left in his current term and last served as chief justice in 2020.
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals voted to designate Tim Armstead as chief justice for 2024.
The change is part of a yearly rotation of the position between the five justices. Armstead has 10 years left in his current term and last served as chief justice in 2020.
Armstead will take over the position currently occupied by Justice Elizabeth Walker on Jan. 1. He said he wants to continue to make it more open to the public.
“I want to continue the work that Chief Justice Walker has done this year, in trying to open up the court and make it more accessible and more transparent,” Armstead said. “I think that’s been a very important accomplishment. And I want to continue that.”
Armstead also wants to address challenges the court faces in child abuse and neglect cases.
“In terms of our child abuse and neglect cases in our state. You know, there’s been a rise in the number of those cases,” Armstead said.
However, he said there is a declining number of attorneys with the state to handle these cases and serve as guardians for the children. He plans to work with the legislature to take steps to attract more attorneys who are willing to serve as attorneys for those children.
“We want to make sure that process works in the best interest of those children. And we’re going to take some steps this year to hopefully make that process work better,” Armstead said.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice John Hutchison recently delivered a letter to the court indicating he will not be seeking reelection when his term ends. Randy Yohe speaks with Hutchison about his court career.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice John Hutchison recently delivered a letter to the court indicating he will not be seeking reelection when his term ends. Hutchison, who has 45 years of legal experience, 30 of those as a judge and two as chief justice, reflects on his experience with reporter Randy Yohe and offers his insight into the current judicial system.
Also, in this show, West Virginia’s distribution of opioid settlement funds is among the most transparent when compared to other states. Emily Rice has more.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.
Teresa Wills is our host.
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West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice John Hutchison announced Thursday that he will not be running for re-election at the end of his term in 2024.
Story updated on June 1, 2023 at 2:58 p.m.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice John Hutchison announced Thursday that he will not be running for re-election at the end of his term in 2024.
He noted in his letter to Chief Justice Beth Walker that he was making the announcement now so anyone who is interested in running for his seat on the high court will be able to plan accordingly.
“It’s a huge election year. You have to organize and be able to raise money, and that atmosphere is critical,” Hutchison said. “You’ve got to get out there, meet the public. Get your message out, let people know you’re running. It’s only fair that knowing that I’m not going to do it. Obviously, I am aware of the Court’s desire to undertake a strategic planning process and you need to know who will be on the Court in the long-term,”
He said, “absent some unforeseen catastrophe” that he will complete his term on Dec. 31, 2024.
Hutchison was appointed to the Supreme Court in December 2018 by Gov. Jim Justice and elected on June 9, 2020, to a term ending Dec. 31, 2024.
Hutchison filled the seat of convicted former Justice Allen Loughry. Loughry resigned from the court about a month after a federal jury convicted him on 11 charges. He was suspended from his seat earlier that year over allegations that he repeatedly lied and used his public office for personal gain.
“When I came to the Court in January 2019 the judicial system was starting to come out of a very dark place,” Hutchison noted. “What’s brought it into the light is is the infusion of new blood, new ideas with that a recognition that the Court needed to change its direction and become more transparent. Let people know what we’re doing will not be secretive as it was in the past, be willing to communicate with each other.”
He previously was appointed to the bench in the Tenth Judicial Circuit (Raleigh County) by then-Gov. Gaston Caperton in 1995 and was elected to that seat in 1996 and re-elected in 2000, 2008 and 2016.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice John Hutchison
As a circuit judge, Hutchison was a member of the Supreme Court’s Mass Litigation Panel and was a judicial representative on the Commission to Study Residential Placement of Children. He was appointed several times to sit on the Supreme Court when a Justice had been recused.
He also served as treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president of the West Virginia Judicial Association and was chairman and vice-chairman of the association’s legislative and pensions committees. He was certified as a mediator by the National Judicial College in 2017.
He was born and raised in Beckley, West Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Davis and Elkins College in 1972, and a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law in 1980.
Hutchison said he looks forward to spending quality time with his wife Viki and his family.
“Especially my wife,” he said. “This year we will have been married 48 years, and she has been behind me the entire time. I never will be able to repay her for what she has done for me.”
Hutchison said he hopes to continue to serve the court as a senior status judge or as a mediator.
“We need senior status judges,” Hutchison said. “We have to have judges available that can step into the breach whenever there’s nobody else that can handle a case, or there may be an illness or something and somebody can go in for a short period of time and cover a docket or whatever. And I absolutely want to make myself available for that.”
Pandemic-era technology will help survivors of domestic and sexual abuse face their alleged abuser in court – virtually.
Pandemic-era technology will help survivors of domestic and sexual abuse face their alleged abuser in court – virtually.
Officials in Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties will hold public tests of a program that allows victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to file petitions and attend follow-up hearings without visiting a courthouse.
Previously, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault had to go in person to a magistrate court to seek domestic violence protective orders or personal safety orders, and they had to attend follow-up hearings in person.
According to Lisa Tackett, the director of court services for the West Virginia Supreme Court, in the pilot counties, victims can still go to court, but they also have the option of participating in the court hearings remotely from another location.
“We’re very proud of it at the Supreme Court,” Tackett said. “All of the justices have been fully behind this program and they really want to make sure that individuals that need protection, feel safe and feel like they have an alternative.”
With the addition of Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties, the total number of counties participating in the Remote Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Outreach Project, is seven. The other active counties are Cabell, Jefferson, Kanawha and Ohio.
“They’ve been through, in most instances, something very traumatic that has happened,” Tackett said. “These advocates are trained to deal with these individuals, to help them think about their safety, their family’s safety, and they can help them in an atmosphere that is not as intimidating as going into the courthouse.”
In a press release from the Supreme Court of Appeals, an anonymous user of the program shared their thoughts on what it meant to have this remote option:
“When I found out about the option provided at the Sexual Assault Help Center where I could participate virtually, my anxiety was significantly reduced, and I finally felt like I can do this, and things will get better. I’m very appreciative that this virtual option is available for individuals facing the unthinkable.”
This week, the high court is going to be in Morgantown, hearing cases and working with students.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals’ deliberations can always be streamed live, but for people in the northern part of the state, it isn’t always possible to make the trip to Charleston to see them in person.
This week, the high court is going to be in Morgantown, hearing cases and working with students.
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the court will hear arguments at the West Virginia University College of Law in Morgantown.
Doors will open at 9 a.m. and arguments will begin at 10 a.m. in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the College of Law.
The Court will hear the following cases in Morgantown:
Rule 20 Arguments:
10:00 a.m. Speedway LLC v. Deborah L. Jarrett, Executor of the Estate of Kevin Jarrett, No. 21-0215.
10:40 a.m. Robert Toler v. Cornerstone Hospital of Huntington, LLC, No. 21-0830.
11:20 a.m. Everett J. Frazier, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles v. Steve Briscoe, No. 21-0991, and Everett J. Frazier, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles v. Steve Briscoe, No. 21-0990.
Rule 19 Argument:
12:00 p.m. State of West Virginia v. Jaquaylla Kessler, No. 21-0674. 12:20 p.m. State of West Virginia v. Henry Jo Ward, No. 21-0806.
The Wednesday arguments will be part of the Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students civics education program — known as LAWS.
High school students from Monongalia and Preston counties will attend arguments in four cases. Local attorneys previously visited the schools to help students study the cases ahead of court day.
After the arguments are over, students have an opportunity to talk to the attorneys who argued the cases.
Since LAWS was established in 1999, more than 6,500 students in 40 counties have participated.
Students from Morgantown High School and Clay-Battelle High School will watch:
10 a.m. Rule 20 Argument in City of Charleston v. Robert Romaine, No. 21-0776.
10:40 a.m. Rule 19 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Tremaine Lamar Jackson, No. 21-0738.
Students from University High School and Preston County High School will watch:
11:15 a.m. Rule 20 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Justin Conner, No. 21-0323.
11:55 a.m. Rule 19 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Adonne A. Horton, No. 21-0532.
Changes may be coming to the Office of Drug Control Policy if a House bill passes the West Virginia Legislature. House Bill 3306 would take the office away from the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and give it new responsibilities.
Changes may be coming to the Office of Drug Control Policy if a House bill passes the West Virginia Legislature.
House Bill 3306 would take the office away from the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and give it new responsibilities.
One new duty is the creation of a Sober Living Home Taskforce. According to state surveys, there is an influx of substance use disorder treatment and rehabilitation homes around the state. That growth has prompted a number of related bills and studies.
Del. Scot Heckert, R-Wood, believes the task force will aid in controlling and decreasing what he and others say are a growing number of non-certified, unregulated, sober living homes more focused on making a profit than helping people.
“It’s like Dodge City,” Heckert said. “They do what they want to. Our approval in the house for a task force to study them will help weed out the baddies.”
The bill also charges the office with developing a strategic plan to reduce the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse and smoking by at least 10 percent but it doesn’t set a deadline.
The legislation also deems the office must:
Oversee a school-based initiative that links schools with community-based agencies and health departments to implement school-based anti-drug and anti-tobacco programs; coordinate media campaigns designed to demonstrate the negative impact of substance use disorder, smoking and the increased risk of tobacco addiction and the development of other diseases.
Review Drug Enforcement Agency and the West Virginia scheduling of controlled substances and recommend changes that should be made based on data analysis.
Develop recommendations to improve communication between health care providers and their patients about the risks and benefits of opioid therapy for acute pain, improve the safety and effectiveness of pain treatment, and reduce the risks associated with long-term opioid therapy, including opioid use disorder and overdose.
The bill passed by a vote of 90 to 4 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
