West Virginia Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2022)
| West Virginia Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Jenkins vacancy |
| Date: February 6, 2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Alan D. Moats (temporary) C. Haley Bunn (permanent) |
| Date: February 7, 2022 (Moats) April 6, 2022 (Bunn) |
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) appointed C. Haley Bunn to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on April 6, 2022. Bunn succeeded Evan Jenkins, who retired on February 6, 2022, to return to private practice. Before Bunn's appointment, Chief Justice John A. Hutchison appointed Alan D. Moats to the West Virginia Supreme Court on February 7, 2022, as a temporary replacement. Moats served on the state's court of last resort until Governor Jim Justice (R) appointed Bunn. Bunn was the governor's third nominee to the five-member supreme court.[1][2][3]
At the time of the vacancy, under West Virginia law, in the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of applicants submitted by a nominating commission.[4] The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may compete to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.[5]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- 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 2022.
The appointees
Permanent
- See also: C. Haley Bunn
C. Haley Bunn, a native of Oceana, Wyoming County, graduated from West Virginia University and the West Virginia University College of Law. She began her legal career in private practice at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. She then served seven years as a federal prosecutor. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice selected Bunn as one of 12 prosecutors in the country to serve in the newly created Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. Bunn left her position as a federal prosecutor to return to private practice at Steptoe & Johnson.[3]
Temporary
- See also: Alan D. Moats
Moats became a temporary judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on February 7, 2022.[2] At the time, he was also a judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit of West Virginia, presiding over Barbour and Taylor counties.[6]
Former Gov. Gaston Caperton (D) appointed Moats to the 19th Judicial Circuit in 1996. He was re-elected in 2016.[7][8] Before that, Moats worked as an assistant prosecutor and prosecutor with Taylor County and as a lawyer in private practice.[9]
Moats earned a bachelor's degree in English and a J.D. from West Virginia University in 1974 and 1977, respectively.[9]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in West Virginia
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of two to five applicants submitted by a nominating commission.[4] The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may compete to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.[5]
Otherwise, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justices are chosen in nonpartisan elections to serve 12-year terms. They must run for re-election when their terms expire.[5]
Makeup of the court
Justices
Following Jenkins' return to the private sector, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia included the following members:
| ■ Beth Walker | Elected in 2016 | |
| ■ Tim Armstead | Appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ John Hutchison | Appointed by Gov. Justice in 2018 | |
| ■ William Wooton | Elected in 2020 |
About the court
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is the state's court of last resort, called in many states simply the state's Supreme Court. This means it is the state's highest court, and its rulings are not subject to review by any other court except in cases that fit the proper conditions for review by the United States Supreme Court. There are five justices on the court.
West Virginia is one of nine states with no intermediate appellate court or what is called in most states the state's Court of Appeals.[10] This means that parties wishing to appeal rulings of a lower court must appeal straight to the Supreme Court of Appeals. This court receives about three thousand appeals per year.[11]
About Justice Jenkins
- See also: Evan Jenkins
Jenkins joined the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in 2018, after being appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) to replace retired Justice Robin Davis. Jenkins then won a special general election on November 6, 2018, to continue serving. He was chief justice of the court from January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022.[12]
Jenkins was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2018.[13] He was first elected to represent West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District in 2014, after switching his political affiliation from Democratic to Republican.[14] Jenkins served in the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 5, from 2003 to 2014.
Jenkins earned his B.S. in business administration from the University of Florida in 1983 and his J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1987.[15]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Justice receives letter of resignation from Supreme Court Justice Evan Jenkins," February 4, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WVNS, "Temporary Judge appointed for West Virginia Supreme Court," February 7, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office of the Governor, "Gov. Justice appoints Haley Bunn to WV Supreme Court of Appeals," April 6, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: West Virginia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 National Center for State Courts, "Selection of Judges," accessed August 13, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Judiciary: Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Judges and Court Information
- ↑ West Virginia Judiciary, "Judge Alan D. Moats," accessed February 15, 2022
- ↑ The West Virginia Record, "Moats elected president of W.Va. Judicial Association," December 6, 2007
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 West Virginia Judiciary, "Judge Alan D. Moats," accessed March 4, 2022
- ↑ West Virginia Judiciary, "Supreme Court of Appeals, About the Court," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Judiciary, "Lower Courts, Supreme Court of Appeals," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ WV Metro News, "Jenkins to become Supreme Court chief justice in January," November 21, 2020
- ↑ Evan Jenkins for Senate, "Home," accessed June 27, 2017
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Lawmaker switches parties, to seek Rahall's seat," July 31, 2013
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Evan Jenkins," accessed January 28, 2015
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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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