West Virginia Circuit Courts

Last updated

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. [1]

Contents

Circuit judges were formerly elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms. In 2015, the Legislature changed the law to provide that future elections will be on a non-partisan basis. Judges must have engaged in the practice of law for at least five years. When a vacancy occurs, the governor of West Virginia appoints a judge, who must run in the next election to retain his or her seat. Because of the nature of the state's judicial retirement system, resignations near the end of a judge's term are common if the judge is a member of the same political party as the sitting governor.

The circuit courts have original jurisdiction over:

The circuit courts have original appellate jurisdiction involving:

Until June 30, 2022, the circuit courts had appellate jurisdiction over:

Today, such appeals shall go to the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia [2]

Appeals from the criminal decisions of circuit courts go the state supreme court, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Civil appeals go first to the Intermediate Court.

History

Circuit Courts for each county are required by the state constitution, and have existed since the creation of the state. Prior to 1976, the state legislature often established supplemental limited jurisdiction courts of varying jurisdiction in some counties, including Courts of Common Pleas, Criminal Courts, Intermediate Courts, and Divorce Courts. In 1976, all of these courts were abolished. The payment and supervision of judges was also transferred from county to state responsibility in that year.

Divorce jurisdiction was handled in a variety of informal ways until 1986 when a "Family Law Master" system was established, making "recommended decisions" to the judge. This system proved unsatisfactory and was replaced with the West Virginia Family Courts in 2000, and Circuit Court were assigned appellate jurisdiction in such matters.

Prior to the 2000 elections, judges were elected in a form of "jungle" election with a single election for all seats. For example, in Kanawha County, voters were asked to vote for "not more than seven" and the top seven won election. This was replaced with numbered divisions in multi-judge circuits, with a separate vote for one election in each division, so judges do not have to run against one another for re-election.

West Virginia's Judiciary includes a Business Court Division. [3] The Business Court Division (BCD) was created by the Supreme Court of Appeals adoption of Trial Court Rule 29 in September 2012, and the BCD formally opened in October 2012, with Judge Christopher C. Wilkes as the first BCD chair. [4]

Beginning with the 2016 elections, judges were elected on a non-partisan basis and the election was moved from a primary in May and a general election in November to a single election in May, giving newly elected judges more time to wind up their practices. The judges elected in the non-partisan election held May 10, 2016 and took office January 1, 2017.

List of current judicial circuits

Judicial circuits map WVjudicialcircuits.png
Judicial circuits map

List of circuits effective January 1, 2025

The Circuit Court of Raleigh County will be a court of concurrent jurisdiction over the Thirtieth Circuit, the only circuit with only one judge, when the judge is unavailable for any reason.

Related Research Articles

In the United States, a state supreme court is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in both state and federal courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio County, West Virginia</span> County in West Virginia, United States

Ohio County is a county located in the Northern Panhandle of the U.S. state of West Virginia, and forms part of the Wheeling metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,425. Its county seat is Wheeling. The county was formed in 1776 from the District of West Augusta, Virginia. It was named for the Ohio River, which forms its western boundary with the state of Ohio. West Liberty was designated as the county seat in 1777, serving to 1797.

The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government.

Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Maryland</span> State government of the United States

The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia's 3rd congressional district</span> U.S. House district for West Virginia

West Virginia's 3rd congressional district is an obsolete U.S. congressional district in southern West Virginia. At various times the district covered different parts of the state, but in its final form included the state's second-largest city, Huntington; included Bluefield, Princeton, and Beckley; and has a long history of coal mining, forestry, and farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of New Jersey</span> Overview of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey

The government of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of the State of New Jersey are vested by the Constitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in a bicameral state legislature, the Governor, and the state courts, headed the New Jersey Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of the state legislature, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals</span> One of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia</span> United States federal district court in West Virginia

The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee</span> United States federal district court in Tennessee

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee is the federal court in the Sixth Circuit whose jurisdiction covers most of East Tennessee and a portion of Middle Tennessee. The court has jurisdiction over 41 counties, which are divided among four divisions. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, it maintains branch facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Greeneville, Tennessee; and Winchester, Tennessee.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of West Virginia</span>

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.

Joseph Marcellus McWhorter was a West Virginia lawyer, politician, educator, and judge.

In West Virginia, magistrate courts are non-lawyer small claims and petty crime courts, established to replace the justice of the peace system in 1976. There are at least two magistrates in every county, and ten in the largest county, Kanawha. Magistrates have jurisdiction over civil cases in which the financial amount in dispute is less than ten thousand dollars. They hear misdemeanor cases and conduct preliminary examinations in felony cases. In criminal cases they issue and record affidavits, complaints, arrest warrants, and search warrants, as well as set bail and make decisions concerning proposed plea agreements, the collection of courts costs, cash bonds, and fines. Magistrates issue emergency protective orders in cases involving domestic violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 United States presidential election in West Virginia</span>

The 1984 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose 6 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States. West Virginia was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with incumbent Vice President and former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the vice presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 United States presidential election in West Virginia</span>

The 1976 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 2, 1976, in West Virginia as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. The two major party candidates, Republican Gerald Ford and Democrat Jimmy Carter were the only candidates to appear on the state's ballot.

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.

References

  1. "Committee Substitute for House Bill 3332" (PDF). www.wvlegislature.gov.
  2. "West Virginia Code".
  3. "West Virginia Judiciary, Business Court Division".
  4. "West Virginia Business Court Division Annual Report 2013, page 1" (PDF).