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Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Justice Armstead vacancy (August 2025)
| West Virginia Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Armstead vacancy |
| Date: August 26, 2025 |
| Status: Seat vacant |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: To be determined |
| Date: To be determined |
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Justice Tim Armstead died on August 26, 2025.[1] Armstead's replacement will be Governor Morrisey's (R) second nominee to the five-member supreme court.
In West Virginia, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of two to five qualified applicants submitted by a nominating commission.[2] The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may compete to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.[3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2025.
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
Interim appointment
- See also: John A. Hutchison
On September 8, 2025, West Virginia Chief Justice William Wooton appointed John A. Hutchison to an interim justice position until a successor is appointed. Hutchinson was a justice until December 2024, after he chose not to run for re-election in the November 2024 election. Hutchinson will serve as interim justice until Governor Patrick Morrisey (R) appoints a replacement.[4]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in West Virginia
In West Virginia, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
Justices
Following Armstead's death, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia included the following members:
| ■ C. Haley Bunn | Appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ Charles S. Trump IV | Elected in 2024 | |
| ■ William Wooton | Elected in 2020 | |
| ■ Tom Ewing | Appointed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) in 2025 |
About the court
Founded in 1872, the West Virginia Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is William Wooton. In 2018, the court decided 1,143 cases.
As of August 2025, two judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor. Two judges were also elected in a nonpartisan election.
The court meets in the Capitol Complex building in Charleston, West Virginia. The court is in session beginning on the second Tuesday in January and ending in June, and from the first Wednesday in September to November.[5]
About Justice Armstead
- See also: Tim Armstead
Tim Armstead was born in Charleston, West Virginia. He lives in Elkview, West Virginia. Armstead earned his B.A. in political science and history from the University of Charleston in 1987 and received his J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law in 1990.[6] Armstead was elected to the West Virginia House of Representatives in 1998. He served as House minority leader from 2006 to 2015. He became speaker of the House in 2015. In 2018, Gov. Justice (R) appointed him to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[6]
Armstead passed away on August 26, 2025 at the age of 60.[1]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2025
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2025
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2025. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2024.
| 2025 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 WCHS ABC8, "West Virginia Supreme Court justice, longtime lawmaker Tim Armstead has died," August 27, 2025
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: West Virginia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgeneral - ↑ The West Virginia Daily News, "Senior Status Justice Hutchison Assigned to Fill Temporary Vacancy on Supreme Court," September 8, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Judiciary, "Supreme Court of Appeals," accessed August 13, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 [courtswv.gov/supreme-court/current-justices/justice-armstead.html West Virginia Judiciary, "Justice Tim Armstead," accessed August 8, 2021]
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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
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