Delegates passed a bill opening a door for an upcoming appointment to the state Supreme Court remain in place until the 2024 election.
The bill passed the House of Delegates 73-23 on Wednesday afternoon. It now goes to the full Senate.
House Bill 4785 makes a small change to say the governor’s appointment would stand if the unexpired term is no more than three years. The bill applies to a range of judicial vacancies ranging from the local level to West Virginia’s highest court.
The immediate ramifications would be for a Supreme Court seat that just opened.
Under current law, the governor would appoint a justice to serve until the general election next fall.
But the implications could be significant for whoever is selected to replace departing Justice Evan Jenkins, who announced his departure Feb. 4 for a term that would have concluded in 2024.
The winner of that special election would serve until the regular term that Jenkins vacated is up. That regular election would be in 2024.
So the appointee or whoever would have won the 2022 special election conceivably could have been on the ballot twice in short order.
The House proposal would change that to assure whoever the governor appoints would serve until the seat would have been up for election anyway in 2024.
Delegate Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, said the citizens should have their earliest opportunity to vote for judges.
“Instead of the voters having control, the governor, who has appointment power, will have control,” Fleischauer said. “I’m sticking with the voters. I urge a no vote.”
The West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections organization has called the change a power grab.
“The people of West Virginia deserve to have a say-so on their courts,” stated Julie Archer, coordinator for WV Citizens for Clean Elections.
“In proposing this bill, lawmakers are taking power away from West Virginia voters and handing it to the governor instead. HB 4785 could shield partisan or incompetent judges from any kind of public check for several years. There’s no telling the damage that could be done in that time.”