Longtime West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw died today at age 88, the state Supreme Court confirmed.
He died of a heart attack this morning, according to court officials. He is survived by his wife, former state schools Superintendent Jorea Marple, and four children.
Darrell McGraw’s brother Warren, who served on the state Supreme Court and as state Senate president, died last year at age 84.
As attorney general, Darrell McGraw was involved in many high-profile national cases, including the 1998 multibillion-dollar State Tobacco Settlement, which secured more than a billion dollars for the State of West Virginia. In June 2001, McGraw was the first state attorney general to sue Purdue Pharma, the maker of the addictive painkiller Oxycontin.
The lawyer, who was a Democrat, was also a Supreme Court justice. He was elected the state Supreme Court for a single 12-year term in 1976. Landmark actions of the court during his time included the 1978 Mandolidis decision, which significantly expanded the rights of injured workers to sue, establishing a principle that was opposed by many employers.
He was a rare political figure to have held both offices, Supreme Court justice and attorney general.
“Darrell McGraw devoted his life to service in West Virginia’s government through 12 years on the Supreme Court and 20 years as Attorney General. He played a key role in an entire generation of jurisprudence in the Mountain State,” said the current chief justice, Tim Armstead.
“We honor Justice McGraw’s legacy of service to our state and extend our deepest prayers and sympathies to his wife Jorea and their children during this difficult time.”
McGraw was elected state attorney general in 1992 and re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.
He lost his re-election bid for a sixth term in 2012. He received 49% of the vote to Republican Patrick Morrisey’s 51 percent.
Morrisey, who went on to serve three terms as attorney general offered condolences on social media today. “My prayers and sympathies go out to the family and friends of Darrell McGraw for their loss,” Morrisey posted on social media.
McGraw was born in McGraws-Tipple, Wyoming County. He graduated from Pineville High School, served two years in the Army and then went to West Virginia University, where he served in 1959 as student body president and dedicated the mast of the U.S.S. West Virginia, which still stands as a landmark at the university. He went on to earn his law degree from West Virginia University.
Before starting his career in elected office, McGraw worked as counsel to Governor Hulett Smith. He served also as counsel to the Legislature.
“Darrell McGraw’s legacy is an indelible mark on West Virginia’s legal landscape. His leadership was evident at an early age; he served as Student Body President at West Virginia University and devoted most of the remainder of his life to public service across all three branches of government,” said another current Supreme Court justice, Bill Wooton.
“He was a key figure in the administration in Gov. Hulett Smith, a counsel to the Legislature, a former Justice of our Supreme Court and West Virginia’s longest-serving Attorney General. A hallmark of his public service was his love of the state of West Virginia and its people. He will be remembered by those who knew him as an inordinately kind and good man.”