Interviews are straight ahead for applicants to be appointed as West Virginia’s next Supreme Court justice.
Fifteen names are under consideration to take the place of Justice Beth Walker, who retired June 27.
In West Virginia, when a judicial position on the Supreme Court of Appeals becomes vacant before the end of a term, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of qualified candidates submitted by the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission.
According to state code, the commission has 90 days from the occurrence of the vacancy to interview applicants and submit 2 to 5 names to the governor. Gov. Patrick Morrisey then has 30 days to make an appointment.
The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point they can run to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.
Walker’s current term was set to end on Dec. 31, 2028, so Governor Morrisey will pick a new justice to serve for now.
The 15 applicants, first reported by the West Virginia Record, include:
- Angela Alexander, an assistant attorney general with the state Attorney General’s office and a former family court judge;
- Harry Kirkpatrick III. a Beckley lawyer and retired judge on Raleigh County’s circuit court;
- Matthew Chapman, a partner with Rawle & Henderson in Wheeling. He is the husband of state Senator Laura Wakim Chapman;
- Brenden Long, an attorney at Long Law Offices in Scott Depot and a former candidate for a vacant Supreme Court seat in 2018;
- Cody Corliss, an associate professor at the West Virginia University College of Law;
- Shawn Morgan, managing member at Steptoe & Johnson’s Bridgeport office and a former assistant United States attorney;
- Thomas Ewing, circuit judge in Fayette County;
- Steven Redding, circuit judge in Berkeley and Morgan counties;
- Laura Faircloth, circuit judge in Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties;
- Mark Sadd, managing member of Lewis Gianola PLLC in Charleston;
- Dan Greear, judge on the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals and former chief counsel for the West Virginia House of Delegates;
- Steven Thomas, a member of Kay Casto and Chaney in Charleston;
- Ryan Kennedy, the state Secretary of Veterans Assistance and a former mayor of Clarksburg;
- Todd Kirby, circuit judge in Raleigh County and former state delegate;
- Zachary Viglianco, deputy solicitor general for the Department of Justice in the state of Nebraska and former counsel for the West Virginia Senate.
Greg Thomas, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, said last week on MetroNews Midday that West Virginia deserves a conservative justice. Thomas has been active for years in elections surrounding the Supreme Court.
“There’s some decent names on that list,” Thomas said on statewide radio.