West Virginians can’t win for losing
by admin on 09/06/09 at 6:05 am
Charleston Daily Mail
June 9, 2009
The politics of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has more plot twists than “As the World Turns,” and a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court just kinked it even further.
The state’s highest court, with employer-hostile decisions and invention of novel causes of aggrievement, added to West Virginia’s reputation as a “judicial hellhole” where corporations should not risk their assets.
This perception harmed West Virginia’s ability to attract investment, and many players set about trying to change the makeup of the state Supreme Court.
One of those players was Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who poured $3 million into an independent campaign to defeat one of the worst Robin Hoods of the court – former Justice Warren McGraw.
