CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry will become the chief justice of the state’s highest court Jan. 1, the Supreme Court officially announced Monday.
The position of chief justice, which is normally rotated between the five justices, is the justice that presides over oral arguments, rules on recusal motions and assigns replacement judges in certain cases.
Loughry, a Tucker County native, was elected to a 12-year term in 2012. This will be his first time serving as chief justice.
“I am enormously honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chief Justice,” he said in a news release Monday from the Court. “I will work hard to do the best job I can in moving the court system forward. The elected judicial officers and our court employees in West Virginia do an excellent job, and I am proud to be a part of our judicial system.”
Loughry earned his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University. He has four law degrees.