W.Va. Supreme Court to Revise Appeals Court Rules
The West Virginia Supreme Court has unveiled newly proposed rules of appellate procedure for the state – changes that Chief Justice Robin Davis says will provide for full review of every case properly appealed to the state Supreme Court.
The West Virginia Supreme Court’s current appeal rules leave our state as the only one in the nation with a completely discretionary appellate docket, making West Virginia the most restrictive state in the nation when it comes to filing appeals. Governor Joe Manchin’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform recently recommended fixing the state’s outdated appellate rules in order to grant all West Virginians an automatic right of appeal.
The Court’s release of its Revised Rules of Appellate Procedure coincides with a two-week series of 90-minute public education seminars about the rules taking place throughout the state. West Virginians have 60 days to submit public comments to the Court on the substantial revisions, which would change all but two of the Court’s current appellate rules and add 18 new rules. Most notably, the Court would abandon its procedure of rejecting petitions for appeal with no explanation whatsoever, and instead issue an abbreviated opinion on the merits at the very least for each case properly appealed to the Court.
Click here to review the Court’s proposed rules, and here for the schedule of public education seminars. West Virginians should make every effort to attend and submit public comments, as these rules effect everyone’s right of appeal. Keep checking back here for the latest on the revised appeals court rules.
