West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Beth Walker says she is cutting her term short because it is a good time for her family — and a stable time for the court.
“I think this is the right time for me, but my primary concern in the exact timing is to try to do it in a way that least affects the court,” Walker said today on MetroNews “Talkline.”
“We’ve made incredible accomplishments in the last several years, and I don’t want my stepping away to disrupt our cases and all of the work that we do.”
Walker assumed office on Jan. 1, 2017. Her current term was set to end on Dec. 31, 2028.
In a letter addressed to the current chief justice, William Wooton, Walker says she intends to retire this June 27.
“So that’s the timing, and the reason is personal. I’m ready to retire. I’m ready to spend a little more time with my beloved Mr. Walker, who has been retired for a little while,” the justice said on statewide radio, “and so I have the good fortune of doing it at the time when I won’t have too much disruption to the court.”
The Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission will collect applications, conduct interviews and make recommendations to Gov Patrick Morrisey, who will appoint a replacement.
Walker was elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals May 10, 2016. She ran in a crowded field that year and defeated incumbent Justice Brent Benjamin, former state Attorney Darrell McGraw, attorney Wayne King — and Wooton, a former state delegate who is now her colleague on the court.
She served as chief justice in 2019 and 2023.
She ran for a seat on the court in 2008 as a Republican, but a law passed in 2015 by the state Legislature made the 2016 judicial elections nonpartisan.
At the end of summer 2018, West Virginia’s House of Delegates voted to impeach all four of the state Supreme Court’s sitting justices. Justice Menis Ketchum resigned just prior to the impeachment inquiry.
Walker was named in only one article of impeachment, one dealing with alleged misuse of state funds by failure to implement a policy preventing improper spending. In other words, Walker was potentially being held accountable for the acts of her colleagues.
Walker was the only member of the Supreme Court to go through a trial in the state Senate. The others resigned or fought the impeachment process in the judicial system. On Oct. 2, 2018, the state Senate voted 32-1 not to remove Walker from the court.
Walker was the last justice remaining on the court from that tumultuous period.
“Some might say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, having just joined the court and not been a part of any of the decisions that were being challenged or the concerns that were raised at that time,” Walker said.
“But I put my head down, I went through the process and went to work immediately to do exactly what I promised the Senate I would do — and that is work every day to make sure the court did not return to the conduct that was so concerning. And we’ve accomplished that, and I’m really proud of it.”
The current justices offered praise for Walker’s contributions to the court.
“Justice Walker has been an outstanding member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia,” said Wooton, the chief justice.
“Regardless of who is chief – and that role is currently mine – Beth Walker has been a leader on this Court. This is in part due to her institutional knowledge, being our longest-serving justice, but the real foundation of her leadership is her judicial temperament and intellect.”
Wooton continued by noting, “In some appellate courts in other jurisdictions – and in this Court at different times – the internal deliberations have been caustic and acrimonious. That has never happened in our Court because Justice Walker has been a force insisting on collegiality and civility among our members.
“Her leadership in this area has been a real strength of our Court. While I would like to persuade Beth to remain on the Court, I will respect her judgment. Nonetheless, I sincerely regret that Justice Elizabeth Walker will very shortly cease to be a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.”