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The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the intermediate appellate court in West Virginia, created pursuant to the West Virginia Appellate Reorganization Act of 2021. [1]
It has jurisdiction over the following appeals, subject to further appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals:
The court has no original jurisdiction and no criminal jurisdiction. [1]
In matters involving a question of fundamental public importance, or cases in which time is of the essence, either party may petition that the court be bypassed and the case heard by the Supreme Court of Appeals. [2]
The court is required to issue a written opinion on every case properly before it. These opinions are binding precedent, unless overruled on further appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals or the United States Supreme Court. [3]
The court is empowered to hold court at any county seat in the state. [3]
The court system purchased the City Center East office building in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston, and the court is housed there. A court room was constructed on the first floor of the building. [4]
The court decided to hold hearings, as appropriate, in Grant, Lewis, Morgan, Raleigh and Wetzel counties, when the lawyers involved reside in those regions. [5] In those cases it will use existing county owned facilities.
The court consists of three judges. Each are elected on a non-partisan basis for ten year terms. [1]
In the event that a judge is recused the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall appoint a current circuit judge to temporary duty on the court.
As of June 2024, the current judges are: [6]
| Judge | Joined | Next election | Law school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas E. Scarr, Chief Judge | July 1, 2022 | 2024 | William & Mary |
| Daniel W. Greear | July 1, 2022 | 2026 | West Virginia |
| Charles Lorensen | July 1, 2022 | 2028 | West Virginia |
The 2021 act creating the court provided that the Governor would appoint the original judges for staggered terms. On December 29, 2021, Governor Jim Justice appointed the three original judges to the court, who all took office on July 1, 2022. Thomas E. Scarr of Huntington, Daniel W. Greear of Charleston, Charles Lorensen of Charleston were appointed to terms ending in 2024, 2026, and 2028 respectively. [7] [8] Originally, Donald A. Nickerson, Jr. of Wheeling was appointed instead of Lorensen, but he declined the appointment, stating that did not wish to relocate to Charleston. [9]
Judge Scarr declined to run for the full elected term. The election was held on a non-partisan basis. Three candidates filed for the seat. Elgine Hecteta McArdale, a Wheeling attorney; Mychal S. Schulz, a Charleston attorney; and S. Ryan White, also a Charleston attorney and member of the county school board. White won with 59% of the vote, and will take office on January 1, 2025. [10]
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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.
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.
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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.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of West Virginia face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT persons. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1976, and same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014. West Virginia statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in West Virginia since October 9, 2014. On July 28, 2014, a ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bostic v. Schaefer found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Bostic, allowing the ruling to take effect. As a result, on October 9, 2014, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced he was ordering state agencies to act in compliance with the controlling precedent in the Virginia case. Even though West Virginia's ban had not been explicitly declared unconstitutional, the Fourth Circuit precedent made it certain the state's statutory ban would be overturned. The state started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples that same day. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia officially ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on November 7, 2014.
The West Virginia Circuit Courts are the West Virginia state trial courts of general jurisdiction. They are the only state trial courts in West Virginia that are courts of record. West Virginia's 55 counties are divided into 31 circuits, each comprising anywhere from one to four counties. Different circuits have different numbers of judges; 11 circuits have only a single judge. Effective with the 2024 election, the circuits will be realigned into 30 circuits, with only one having a single judge.
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Anderson Hunt Brown was an American businessman, real-estate developer, and civil rights activist.
Arch Alfred Moore Capito is an American attorney and politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was a candidate for governor of West Virginia in the state's 2024 gubernatorial election but was defeated by Patrick Morrisey. He resigned from the West Virginia House in December 2023 to focus on his campaign.
The impeachment of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia occurred on August 13, 2018, when the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to impeach all five justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia for charges relating to corruption, overspending, and lack of oversight. Despite being threatened in other states at other times, this is the only time in United States history that the entire bench of the highest court of a state has been impeached.
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Daniel W. Greear is an American lawyer and politician. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Kanawha County from 1995 to 1996. Since 2021 he has acted as a judge at the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia.