Proposed appeals court doesn’t impress justice
by admin on 02/02/10 at 6:51 am
Charleston Daily Mail
By Sara Gavin
February 2, 2010
West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robin Davis says she considers the idea of creating a new appeals court in West Virginia a waste of both time and money.
Davis delivered that message to state lawmakers Monday during a joint meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
“The appeal factor takes a long time, even in the best of circumstances,” Davis said. “Adding another layer to the process would simply slow the appeal down much further.”
The recommendation to create the new court, called an intermediate appellate court, is one of several that came from a judicial reform commission formed by Gov. Joe Manchin and co-chaired by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The panel released its full findings late last year.
Davis told legislators she was sharing her personal opinion on the issue and that the full court itself has not taken an official position.
However, “while each justice may vary a few degrees, we are not too different in our attitudes,” she said.
The governor’s judicial reform commission estimated a new appeals court could cost the state roughly $8 million. But some say the price tag could end up being much higher.
“Why in the world would we add an $8 million- to $15 million-a-year additional layer of courts in a very small state that does a great job of handling our cases the way we are?” Davis asked.
Although West Virginia is considered the busiest appellate court in the nation, Davis said justices’ workloads regarding appeals have actually been decreasing in recent years. She reported that in 2009 the court received less than 2,000 appeals – the fewest amount since the 1990s.
She also said the number of workers compensation appeals have declined drastically.
