Legislative Update
Legislature considering appeals court, other reforms
February 19, 2010
With the 2010 legislative session more than halfway complete, state lawmakers are considering several proposals that would help fix West Virginia’s legal system, and bring well-paying jobs to our state.
Senator Jeff Kessler has proposed a bill that would create an intermediate appeals court, and guarantee all West Virginians an automatic right of appeal. This reform measure would help bring West Virginia’s appeals process in line with the rest of the nation.
An appeals court and automatic right of appeal were the most significant recommendations of Governor Joe Manchin’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform.
In his State of the State address, the Governor noted that the West Virginia Supreme Court would issue new rules to provide for full appellate review by the Court.
Unfortunately, recent remarks from Supreme Court Justices Robin Davis and Menis Ketchum indicate an unwillingness by the Court to propose meaningful judicial reforms.
As a result, it may be up to legislators to finally fix West Virginia’s appeals process, which is the most restrictive in the nation.
Legislators have also introduced bills that would provide for the election of judges on a non-partisan basis. Such a measure would help take some of the politics out of the state’s judicial selection process, and place an emphasis on selecting the best judges for our state rather than the best politicians.
Notably, Delegate Patrick Lane has also introduced legislation that would bring much needed accountability to the Attorney General’s office. H.B. 4242 would require legislative approval of any settlement agreements reached by the Attorney General — and a competitive bidding process for any outside counsel hires.
Attorney General Darrell McGraw frequently hires his campaign contributors to no-bid legal contracts which often result in millions in fees for the private attorneys. The Attorney General’s questionable handling of certain settlement agreements has also put the state in a position to lose millions in federal Medicaid funding.
Clearly, it is about time that state lawmakers took steps to rein in the questionable practices of Attorney General Darrell McGraw.
WV CALA is hopeful that legislators will give strong consideration to the meaningful civil justice reforms that will help move our state forward.
