The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed a resolution that calls for a legislative study in connection with new appellate rules approved by the state Supreme Court two years ago.
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, unsuccessfully tried to amend the resolution Monday to include a study of how an intermediate court would impact the state’s judicial system.
Armstead says the House resolution appears to be more about getting out-of-state groups to stop their criticism of West Virginia’s court system than to really study the current condition of the system.
“We’re going to study basically to prove to the out-of-state folks that we’ve done what we need to do to fix our civil justice system,” Armstead said. “That’s certainly, I don’t believe, is the case or the consensus of people across our state.”
House Majority Leader Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, said Armstead’s motion was premature.
“Let’s do the study first. Let’s not put the cart before the horse,” Boggs said. “Let’s look at it in a way that allows the analysis to be done and review these steps our Court has taken.”
Armstead said he applauds what the High Court has done but lawmakers must recognize there’s more to do.
The proposed amendment was defeated on a voice vote and delegates approved the resolution.
The study is scheduled to be done by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance during this year’s legislative interims.
West Virginia Citizens Again Lawsuit Abuse Greg Thomas released the following statement Monday in reaction to the resolution:
“The Leadership of the House of Delegates continues to have its head in the sand when it comes to the need for legal reform. West Virginia lost more jobs that any other state last year, yet the House of Delegates has done nothing this session to try and create more jobs.”
“Every year, the American Tort Reform Association identifies the most unfair and out-of-balance legal jurisdictions in the nation, and West Virginia has made the list for ten consecutive years. Also, West Virginia has been ranked dead last every year since 2006 on the litigation fairness survey published by the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. Until West Virginia guarantees an automatic right of appeal, our state will continue to be ranked last on these lists.”