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Margaret Workman
Margaret Workman was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. She served on the court from 1988 to 2000, and from 2008 to her retirement on December 31, 2020.[1] Workman served as chief justice from February to December 2018.
Workman was the first woman to be elected to the state's highest court or to win statewide office in West Virginia.[2] Workman left the court in 2000 after one term.[3] She was re-elected to the court as a Democrat in November 2008.
On August 13, 2018, the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to impeach Workman and three other state supreme court justices.[4] On October 11, 2018, temporary supreme court justices blocked the Senate from conducting an impeachment trial for Workman. See this article to learn more.
Education
Workman received her A.B. from West Virginia University in 1969 and her J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1974.[5]
Career
After graduating from law school, Workman served as assistant counsel to the majority of the United States Senate Public Works Committee. After that, she clerked for West Virginia's 13th Judicial Circuit. She later worked for Senator Jay Rockefeller's campaign. Next, she went into private practice, opening her own law office. She was appointed to the Kanawha County Circuit Court in 1981. In 1988, she was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. After leaving the court in 2000, she returned to private practice. She was elected to the court again in 2008 and served until her retirement in 2020.[6][1]
Awards and associations
- Florence Crittendon Award
- Justitia Officium Award, West Virginia University College of Law
- Honorary degree, University of Charleston
- Honorary degree, West Virginia State College
- Excellence in Criminal Justice Award, West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association[3]
Elections
2020
Margaret Workman did not file to run for re-election.
2008
In a three-way race for two seats, Workman received the second largest number of votes, winning 32.9%.
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Menis Ketchum  [7] |
No | Maynard Seat | Democratic | 27% | 34.8% | |
| Margaret Workman |
No | Maynard Seat | Democratic | 35.9% | 32.9% | |
| Elizabeth Walker | No | Maynard Seat | Republican | 100% | 32.2% | |
| Elliott E. Maynard | Yes | Maynard Seat | Democratic | 19.4% | ||
| Robert Bastress | No | Maynard Seat | Democratic | 17.6% |
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Workman received a campaign finance score of -1.06, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.35 that justices received in West Virginia.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[8]
Noteworthy events
Workman impeached by the West Virginia House of Delegates (2018)
On August 13, 2018, the West Virginia House of Delegates approved 11 of 14 articles of impeachment against four of the state supreme court's sitting justices. Of these 11 articles, Allen Loughry was named in seven, Robin Jean Davis in four, Workman in three, and Beth Walker in one. The articles against Workman dealt with alleged misuse of state funds and authorizing the overpayment of senior status judges in violation of state law. See the table below for further information on the articles of impeachment that named Workman.[9]
| Articles of impeachment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article | Justice(s) charged | Charge | Status |
| 4 | Davis Workman |
Authorizing overpayment of senior status judges | Adopted by a vote of 62-34 |
| 6 | Workman | Authorizing overpayment of senior status judges | Adopted by a vote of 63-34 |
| 13 | Workman | Misuse of $111,000 in state funds | Withdrawn |
| 14 | Davis Loughry Walker Workman |
Misuse of funds by failure to implement policy preventing improper spending | Adopted by a vote of 51-44 |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 WSAZ.com, "W.Va. Supreme Court Justice Workman to retire," October 28, 2020
- ↑ CBS Fox 59, "Margaret Workman hears last oral arguments as WV Supreme Court Justice," October 28, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wheeling News-Register, "Margaret Workman Seeks Return to W.Va. Supreme Court," January 29, 2008
- ↑ NPR, "West Virginia House Votes To Impeach 3 State Supreme Court Justices," August 13, 2018
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Margaret Lee Workman (WV)", accessed January 4, 2021
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "About Margaret, " accessed January 4, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, 2008 Primary and General Election Results
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature Blog, "Judiciary Adopts 14 Articles of Impeachment Against W.Va. Supreme Court Justices," August 7, 2018
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia
State courts:
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia • West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals • West Virginia Circuit Courts • West Virginia Family Courts • West Virginia Magistrate Courts • West Virginia Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in West Virginia • West Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in West Virginia
