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Steve Callaghan
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Steve Callaghan is a judge for the 28th Judicial Circuit in West Virginia.[1] Steve Callaghan won the general election on May 10, 2016. Callaghan was suspended without pay for two years in February 2017. Read more below.
Biography
Callaghan earned his J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1994. He has been an attorney with Callaghan & Callaghan, PLLC since his graduation from law school.[2]
Elections
2016
West Virginia held general elections for county judicial offices on May 10, 2016. This date coincided with partisan primaries for statewide and federal offices. The 2016 election was the first nonpartisan election for the state's judicial seats since statehood in 1863. Learn more about this change here. Candidates interested in filing for the election submitted paperwork by January 30, 2016. Steve Callaghan defeated incumbent Gary Johnson in the general election for the West Virginia Judicial Circuit 28 seat.[1]
| West Virginia Judicial Circuit 28 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Steve Callaghan |
51.72% | 3,445 |
| Gary Johnson Incumbent | 48.28% | 3,216 |
| Total Votes | 6,661 | |
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State, "Election Results Center," accessed May 10, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
The judges of the West Virginia Circuit Court are elected in nonpartisan elections to serve eight-year terms. Judges must run for re-election when their terms expire.[3]
The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote. Term lengths vary by circuit.[3]
Qualifications
To serve on a West Virginia Circuit Court, a judge must be:[3]
- a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years;
- a resident of his or her circuit;
- at least 30 years old; and
- practiced in law for at least five years.
Noteworthy events
Ethics charges over election flier
On July 31, 2016, the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission filed ethics charges against Callaghan over a campaign flier criticizing incumbent Gary L. Johnson. The two-page mailer sent to voters in early May 2016 implied that Johnson and President Barack Obama conferred over ways to weaken the district's coal mining industry. The commission has charged Callaghan with violating the state code of conduct for judicial candidates by attempting to deceive voters. According to the commission's filing, Johnson never met the president or attended a party at the White House.[4]
On August 2, 2016, Callaghan issued a statement in response to the ethics charges:
| “ |
During the 2016 Nicholas County Circuit Judge nonpartisan election, my campaign committee, for which I take full responsibility, produced a mail advertisement addressing a visit to the White House by Judge Gary Johnson and included a Photoshopped parody on the cover depicting President Obama and Judge Johnson ‘partying.' There is no question the First Amendment protects a vigorous and robust exchange of ideas, parody, and other expressions of opinion, particularly in the context of an election. However, within hours after this mailer was sent and appeared on my campaign’s social media, I took a number of actions to remove this material from my campaign’s social media and I ran several radio commercials apologizing for any misunderstanding the mailer may have created if the parody on the cover were taken literally. My intent was never to mislead the public in any way and I took quick and decisive action to make sure the citizens were not misled. Once again, as I stated prior to the election, I take full responsibility for my actions and I personally apologize for any misunderstandings or perceived inaccuracies in my campaign material. [5] |
” |
| —Steve Callaghan (2016), [4] | ||
On February 9, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Callaghan be suspended without pay for two years and pay a $15,000 fine. All five justices recused themselves from the case because they had hired former Judge Gary L. Johnson in January as an interim court administrator. The case was presided over by Senior Judge Thomas McHugh and a panel of circuit court judges. Callaghan's attorneys argued that his flier was protected by the First Amendment and that the judicial investigation commission had no jurisdiction to pursue the charges against him because he was not a judge at the time.[6] Below is an excerpt of the ruling, written by McHugh:
| “ | Based on this Court’s independent review of the record, we find that clear and convincing evidence of improper conduct has been presented in support of each of the violations found by the Board and that Judge-Elect Callaghan’s constitutional arguments afford him no relief.[5] | ” |
| —Judge Thomas McHugh, [7] | ||
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Search," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Callaghan & Callaghan, PLLC, "Our Attorneys," accessed April 21, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: West Virginia," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 West Virginia Record, "Ethics charges filed against attorney who defeated longtime Nicholas Co. judge," August 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Register-Herald, "Court disciplines judge-elect for false fliers," February 9, 2017
- ↑ West Virginia MetroNews, "Supreme Court suspends Nicholas judge for 2 years with no pay," February 9, 2017
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
