Elliott Stewart has been making zines since he was 13 years old. His ongoing zine “Porch Beers” is an incisive look at Appalachian culture, through the eyes of a queer trans man.
W.Va. Supreme Court Suspends And Fines Circuit Court Judge
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In July of 2021, Judge C. Carter Williams, of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, was involved in a traffic stop in the town of Moorefield. Court documents show Williams, stopped by a patrolman for having a cell phone in his hand while driving, “identified himself as a judge, contacted the officer’s supervisors, including the Chief of Police and the Mayor, and made coercive and retaliatory comments.”
Initially, the West Virginia Judicial Hearing Board (JHB) concluded Williams’ conduct during the stop warranted a three-month suspension.
This week, the West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals, in a 56 page document, ruled that a six-month suspension, a censure and a $5,000 fine was more appropriate for Williams. This penalty was in line with a recommendation from the Judicial Disciplinary Counsel.
Chief Justice Beth Walker issued an opinion stating, “The failure (of Williams) to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct is a significant factor to consider, and we conclude that it justifies a harsher sanction than that imposed by the JHB.”
The judicial brief cited earlier traffic stops where Williams also identified his position as a judge.
This year every county in West Virginia, except Cabell County, is set to begin receiving opioid settlement funds, totalling over 400 million dollars from a nearly statewide lawsuit that was won in 2022.
Cabell County, and its largest city, Huntington, decided to bring their own joint lawsuit. They lost that suit in 2022, despite suing with the same claim that was used in successful state and nationwide lawsuits that the pharmaceutical companies had created a “public nuisance.”
The Wheeling University Board of Trustees announced in an email Tuesday that President Ginny Favede was relieved of all duties, news outlets reported. The statement gave no reason for the suspension and a school spokesperson told The Intelligencer Wheeling News Register that further details about it would not immediately be released.
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has launched a new www.courtswv.gov website. In a release, the court noted it’s designed to “enhance the public’s ability to find information about the state court system and its work.”