One of West Virginia’s intermediate court judges, set to be sworn in May 1, has withdrawn.
Don Nickerson, a lawyer in Wheeling, let state officials know that he will not serve after all. Gov. Jim Justice had appointed Nickerson to a term that would have lasted to 2028, when the position then would have been up for a vote of state citizens. It was the longest appointment of the three judges.
“He’s offered up his resignation and we’ll have to make another appointment for his position,” Justice said today, “and we’ll do that right away.”
Justice said today that occurred “for whatever concerns he may have and everything, maybe just is not fitting with the job responsibilities and the family and everything he’s decided to pass.”
The court will be operational by July 1, operating from Charleston and hearing cases from around the state.
Besides Nickerson, Justice appointed attorneys Dan Greear of South Charleston and Thomas Scarr of Barboursville as the judges on the intermediate court initially. The positions will be up for election in the coming years.
The judges will hear appeals of civil cases, appeals from family courts except domestic violence cases, appeals from state agencies or administrative law judges, and workers compensation appeals.
“We’re getting teed up and getting ready to go,” Justice said today.
Twenty-five applicants for the three intermediate court positions were announced by the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission last fall. It’s possible the governor could select a new intermediate judge from among those names, although the procedure wasn’t immediately clear.
Nickerson, who serves as an Ohio County Commissioner, issued a statement today saying that although it was an honor to be considered other factors relating to the distance to Charleston led him to withdraw.
“I felt that with the desire to have a strong virtual and remote working component associated with the Intermediate Court of Appeals, I would not have to relocate to Charleston and could work remotely from Wheeling part of the time and be in Charleston whenever necessary,” he said.
“The travel and expense guidelines ultimately adopted for this new court did not allow me to do that without incurring significant personal costs for any local staff I happened to hire and myself.”