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Thomas E. McHugh
Thomas E. McHugh was a justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He served the court from 1980 until his retirement on December 31, 1997. McHugh was re-appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008 and 2009 to serve during the illness and after the death of Justice Joseph Albright. His term expired in 2012, and he left the court at the end of his term.[1][2]
2010 election
- See also: West Virginia judicial elections, 2010
Thomas E. McHugh narrowly defeated Republican John Yoder for election to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.[3]
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Party | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas E. McHugh  |
Yes | McHugh Seat | Democratic | 100% | 50.8% | |
| John Yoder | No | McHugh Seat | Republican | 100% | 49.1% |
Campaign ad
Education
McHugh received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and his J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law.[5]
Military service
From 1958 to 1961, McHugh served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army.[1]
Career
McHugh was a law clerk for West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Harlan Calhoun from 1966 to 1968. In 1974 he was elected to the Circuit Court of Kanawha County and re-elected in 1976. In 1974, he became chief judge on the court. McHugh joined the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in 1980.[1]
Awards and associations
- West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow
- Emeritus Member, Judge John A. Field, Jr., American Inns of Court
- Director Emeritus of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Thomas Memorial Hospital
- Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
- President of the West Virginia Judicial Association, 1981-1982
- Former member of the Judicial Review Board of West Virginia
- Former member of the Visiting Committee of the West Virginia University College of Law, 1991 - 1995
- Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the West Virginia University College of Law, 1994 - 1995
- Former member of the Dean Search Committee of the West Virginia University College of Law, 1991 - 1992 and 1997 - 1998
- Recipient of the Mountain Honorary, Distinguished West Virginian Award
- Recipient of the 1996 Special Award of Achievement in the Administration of Justice from The West Virginia State Bar
- Recipient of the 1996 Public Service Award from the Mountain State Bar Association
- Recipient of a 1998 Certification of Completion of Mediation Training from Duke University Private Adjudication Center
- Recipient of the 1998 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Kanawha County Bar Association
- Recipient of the 1998 Justicia Officium Award from the West Virginia University College of Law[1]
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.
McHugh received a campaign finance score of -0.44, 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.[6]
External links
- West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Justice Thomas E. McHugh
- Project Vote Smart, Justice Thomas E. McHugh (WV)
- Herald-Dispatch, Thomas E. McHugh Candidate Profile
- The Charleston Gazette, "Supreme Court candidates differ on need for intermediate court," October 5, 2010
- The Newspaper, "West Virginia Supreme Court: DUI Does Not Require Proof Of Driving," May 10, 2010
- The Parthenon, "West Virginia Supreme Court justice seeks to continue term," April 2, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Justice Thomas E. McHugh Profile
- ↑ West Virginia Record, "2012 SupCo race could get interesting," June 21, 2011
- ↑ The Charleston Gazette: "McHugh retains seat on state Supreme Court," Nov. 2, 2010
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, 2010 Primary and General Election Results
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, Justice Thomas E. McHugh (WV)
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
