Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

[5] Upon the death, resignation, or removal of a sitting justice, Article 8, Section 2 of the West Virginia Constitution permits the Governor to appoint a replacement.[7] Despite their officially nonpartisan status, the political party memberships of all justices are known, as all have held or run for other partisan offices.[8] Ketchum's resignation was part of a July 31, 2018, plea bargain, where he pled guilty to a single felony count of wire fraud.Governor Jim Justice appointed Jenkins (a sitting congressman), and Armstead (the former House of Delegates Speaker) to Ketchum's and Davis's former seats on August 25, 2018.[11] On December 12, 2018, Justice appointed Hutchison, a lifelong friend and circuit judge in Raleigh County, to the seat vacated by Loughry.In light of Loughry's resignation and Hutchison's appointment, Ferrell returned to duty in Cabell County at the end of the fall 2018 court term.[14] Likewise, the Court appointed Judge Alan Moats, whose circuit is Barbour and Taylor counties, in February of 2022 to serve in Jenkins spot until governor acted on the vacancy.On the last day to file, former justice Darrell McGraw, who was voted out of office after one term in 1988 announced he would run to the left of all candidates.[16] Jenkins was to continue to serve the remaining time of Davis' term, which would expire on January 2, 2025, but he resigned on February 4, 2022.William Wooton, a trial lawyer and former Democratic state senator, was elected with 31% of the vote, to 30% for Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit, and 20% each for Kris Raines and Jim Douglas.Justice Hutchison was eligible for his full judicial pension and will be well into his 80s by the time a new term expired and did not seek re-election.The charges of rampant corruption led to calls for the impeachment of Loughry and any other member of the court found to be involved.The West Virginia Senate, however, refused to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Davis and scheduled her for trial along with the other justices.Rather than face trial, Justice Workman sued the Legislature before a reconstituted Supreme Court, which ruled in her favor on technical grounds.
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