Davis draws ire with court system remarks
by admin on 03/02/10 at 6:51 am
The Charleston Daily Mail
By Sara Gavin
February 3, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Advocates of a new state appeals court are responding to State Supreme Court Chief Justice Robin Davis’ sharply critical comments about the proposal.
Davis told legislators at a joint House and Senate judiciary committee meeting Monday that establishing an intermediate appellate court would essentially be a waste of time and money.
She defended the state’s current system, saying those who claim there is no right to appeal in West Virginia are “flat wrong.”
Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, drafted an open letter to Davis Tuesday, responding to her remarks.
“If West Virginia already has an appeal of right, then why did the W.Va. Independent Commission on Judicial Reform call for the creation of one?” Roberts asked in the letter.
Likewise, the nonprofit group West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse took exception to Davis’ comments and released their own statement on the issue Tuesday.
“There is a significant difference between the right to file an appeal, which W.Va. litigants currently have, and the right to an appeal on the merits, which is currently lacking,” wrote WV CALA Executive Director Richie Heath.
“As a state, it is irresponsible to continue to put our head in the sand and pretend that there is nothing wrong with our legal system.”
Currently, the state Supreme Court issues an order in every appeal, but two-thirds of them are short refusal orders that do not address the merits of the case.
