Darrell Vivian McGraw Jr. (November 8,1936 –December 7,2024) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He was the brother of former West Virginia State Supreme Court Justice and state Senate President Warren McGraw.
He was elected to the state supreme court for a single 12-year term in 1976. He was elected state attorney general in 1992 and re-elected in 1996,2000,2004,and 2008. [1] He was the only person to have held both offices. He lost his re-election bid for a sixth term in 2012. He received 49% of the vote to Patrick Morrisey's 51%. He filed on January 30,2016,as a candidate seeking election to the West Virginia state supreme court in 2016,but was defeated. [2]
McGraw was born in McGraws,West Virginia. He graduated from Pineville High School and served two years in the United States Army,stationed in Germany,before beginning his undergraduate career at West Virginia University,where he served as student body president and dedicated the mast of the U.S.S. West Virginia,which still stands as a landmark at the university.[ citation needed ]
After earning his Juris Doctor at West Virginia University,he began working under Governor Hulett C. Smith.[ citation needed ]
Prior to acting in an official capacity within West Virginian politics,McGraw took a behind the scenes role,serving as counsel to Hulett C. Smith,Governor from 1965 to 1969,and the West Virginia Legislature. For twelve years starting in 1976,he was a state Supreme Court Justice. During his tenure,McGraw upheld the state Freedom of Information Act,ordering that any exemptions that were to be granted related to this legislation were to be extremely limited. In 1980,he officiated at the wedding of Larry Shannon Roberts,a former WCHS-TV weatherman,and Diana Rhodes Lovejoy,a former West Virginia State Tax Department employee. The wedding was held in the State Capitol Rotunda,the first known wedding to be held at this location.[ citation needed ]
In 1992,he was elected Attorney General. As Attorney General for the State of West Virginia,he was involved in many high-profile national cases,including the 1998 multibillion-dollar State Tobacco Settlement,which secured billions of dollars for the state of West Virginia. As a result of the settlement money,West Virginia saved $2.5 billion due to a bond sale that resulted from the settlement. [3] His office also litigated refunds for over 1,200 state residents from DirecTV totaling $152,000.00. [4]
In June 2001,McGraw was the first state attorney general to sue Purdue Pharma,the maker of Oxycodone. Just before trial in November 2004,Purdue's lawyer Eric Holder agreed to a settlement where Purdue would pay West Virginia $10 million for programs to discourage drug abuse. All the evidence under seal would remain confidential. The settlement did not require Purdue to admit any wrongdoing or change the way it told doctors to prescribe the drug. [5] [6]
While Attorney General,McGraw was criticized by some newspapers,state legislators,tort reform advocates,and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce,who accused him of cronyism, [7] benefiting trial lawyers who contributed to his political campaigns,and inappropriate use of public resources. [8] The WV Record is a newspaper financially supported and published by the US Chamber of Commerce.[ citation needed ]
McGraw died of a heart attack on December 7,2024,at the age of 88. [9]
Supreme Court
Attorney General
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia,the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston,although from 1873 to 1915,it was also required by state law to hold sessions in Charles Town in the state's Eastern Panhandle. The court also holds special sittings at various locations across the state.
Warren Randolph McGraw was an American lawyer,politician,and judge in West Virginia and brother of former West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw.
Earl Ray Tomblin is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as president of the West Virginia Senate from 1995 to 2011. Tomblin became acting governor in November 2010 following Joe Manchin's election to the U.S. Senate. He won a special election in October 2011 to fill the unexpired term ending on January 14,2013,and was elected to a full term as governor in November 2012.
Evan Hollin Jenkins is an American politician and judge. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia,joining the Court in 2018 and serving as chief justice in 2021. He resigned from the court on February 4,2022. He served as a U.S. Representative from West Virginia from 2015 to 2018. He is a Republican,having switched his party affiliation from Democratic in 2013.
Thomas John Miller is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 33rd Attorney General of Iowa from 1995 to 2023. After the defeat of West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw in 2012 when running for reelection,Miller became the longest serving State Attorney General in the United States.
Brent D. Benjamin is an American attorney who previously served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. In 2004,he was the first Republican elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court in more than 80 years,defeating incumbent Justice Warren McGraw. In 2015,the West Virginia Legislature changed the election system for judicial officers to a non-partisan basis. In 2016,Benjamin placed fourth of four serious candidates in the non-partisan election,with 12% of the vote,and left the court in January 2017,to return to private practice.
Margaret Lee Workman is an American lawyer and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Her 1988 election to the Supreme Court made her the first woman elected to statewide office in West Virginia and first female Justice on the Court.
The Government of West Virginia is modeled after the Government of the United States,with three branches:the executive,consisting of the Governor of West Virginia and the other elected constitutional officers;the legislative,consisting of the West Virginia Legislature which includes the Senate and the House of Delegates;and the judicial,consisting of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and lower courts.
West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6,2012. Primary elections were held on May 8,2012.
Allen Hayes Loughry,II is a former justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
The 2014 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia,concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in West Virginia after elections in 2006,2008,2010,and 2012.
Patrick James Morrisey is an American politician and attorney who is the governor-elect of West Virginia. He has served as the 34th Attorney General of West Virginia since 2013. A member of the Republican Party,he was elected to the position in 2012,becoming the first Republican to serve in the role since 1933. Running for the United States Senate in 2018,Morrisey won the Republican Party nomination,but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin in the November general election.
Elizabeth D. "Beth" Walker is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals since 2017. She was elected in the Court's first non-partisan election on May 10,2016. She began a 12-year term on January 1,2017. Walker is the 77th justice to serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the same office in 2008. She has served as chief justice in 2019 and 2023.
The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6,2018,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia,concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various state and local elections. This was one of ten Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Christopher C. Wilkes is the former chief judge for West Virginia's largest judicial circuit,the 23rd Judicial Circuit,encompassing Morgan,Jefferson,and Berkeley counties. Wilkes was first elected to the court in 1992 and has served on the bench since 1993. He has been reelected four times since,most recently in 2016. On August 17,2018,he announced his candidacy for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Division 1. He was not elected,placing third among ten candidates. Wilkes retired in January 2019,but continued to serve as a senior judge.
West Virginia held elections on November 3,2020. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on June 9,2020.
West Virginia held elections on November 8,2016. Elections for the United States House,as well as for several statewide offices including the governorship were held. These elections were held concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other elections nationwide. Primary elections were held on May 10,2016.
The 2012 West Virginia Secretary of State election was held on November 6,2012,to elect the Secretary of State of West Virginia. It was held concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election,along with elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives,as well as various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant easily won re-election to a second term.
West Virginia's 2008 general elections were held on 4 November 2008 with Primary elections being held on 13 May 2008. It saw a landslide Democratic victory across nearly every single office in the state.