CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In her dissenting opinion filed Wednesday, state Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis outlined why she disagreed with the High Court’s 3-1 ruling last week that the Senate seat vacated by former Wyoming County Senator Daniel Hall should be filled by a Republican.
Hall was elected a Democrat in 2012, but changed his affiliation to the GOP in Nov. 2014, giving the Republicans the Senate majority. Hall’s resignation caused a controversy that lasted several weeks.
Davis said in her dissent that while she agreed with the Court’s decision that the case was grounded in law, she disagreed with the interpretation of the law, which reads that a vacated seat should be filled by the party of the person “immediately preceding” the vacancy.
Further, Davis argued that the constitutionality of the statue was not addressed as it should have been.
“While it was considerate for the parties to evade the pivotal question of this statute’s constitutionality to facilitate the Court’s decision of this case, such niceties were neither necessary nor prudent,” Davis wrote.
Davis felt that the Court should have made an exception in the case and ruled the statute to be unconstitutional.
She contended, “while addressing the constitutionality of a statutory provision is not always a routine part of this Court’s statutory construction, sometimes the constitutional implications of a statute’s construction require venturing into that realm.”
Davis said the statute was unconstitutional because, as written, it cannot act out the will of the voters. She was of the opinion that the voters’ choice at the time of election should be taken into consideration as well.
“Because the majority ignored this invitation, and its duty, to decide this singularly dispositive issue, I respectfully dissent,” she concluded.
Chief Justice Menis Ketchum, Justice Margaret Workman and Justice Allen Loughry all formed the majority. Justice Brent Benjamin recused himself from the case.
Sue Cline, a Wyoming County Republican, was sworn in as Hall’s replacement Monday, keeping the GOP’s 18-16 majority intact.