Norman's Note: And we hope to testify in that hearing to show how this type of chicanery affects the ordinary citizen. Rowe is a great example of how an unaccredited graduate can worm his way into the judicial system and then protect other sub-par judges.


June 15, 2009
O'Connor to help with W.Va. judiciary reform study
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will serve as honorary chairwoman of a new commission that will study potential judicial reforms in West Virginia, Gov. Joe Manchin announced.
By Alison Knezevich
Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will serve as honorary chairwoman of a new commission that will study potential judicial reforms in West Virginia, Gov. Joe Manchin announced on Monday.

O'Connor is among nine members of the Independent Commission on Judicial Reform. Manchin announced his intention to create the panel during his State of the State address in February.

"We are truly honored that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has accepted my invitation to serve as the honorary chairwoman of this important commission," Manchin said in a statement. "She brings special expertise and a wealth of knowledge to this panel."

In an executive order he signed in April to create the commission, Manchin said a comprehensive review "may bolster public trust and confidence in the judiciary."

He laid out several topics he wants the commission to study. Those include merit-based selection of judges; campaign finance reforms and reporting requirements; creating an intermediate court of appeals; constitutional amendments; and establishing a court of chancery.

Manchin also appointed former state Supreme Court Justice John McCuskey and former Kanawha Circuit Judge Andrew MacQueen to the commission. Charleston attorney Carte Goodwin, Manchin's general counsel from 2005 until earlier this year, will officially head the panel.

Other members include Mary McQueen, president of the National Center for State Courts; Sandra Chapman, president of the State Bar; Charleston attorneys Thomas Heywood, chief of staff for former Gov. Gaston Caperton, and Marvin Masters, former leader of the state's trial lawyers group; and West Virginia University law school Dean Joyce McConnell and Associate Dean Caprice Roberts.

In the past week, the state has received nationwide attention from problems in its judiciary.

On June 8, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin should have recused himself from a case involving Massey Energy. The company's chief executive, Don Blankenship, had donated millions to help Benjamin win his seat in 2004.

The Benjamin controversy is "obviously ... on folks' minds," but many of the commission's topics predate the case, Goodwin said June 15.

"Our job is to remain objective and to review the needs of the 21st-century court system in West Virginia," he said.

For instance, West Virginia is one of only a handful of states that elect judges on a partisan basis, Goodwin said.

"Questions of judicial selection is something that's on everybody's minds," he said.

Campaign-finance issues will also likely take center stage, he said. The commission also will look into whether the state needs an intermediate court of appeals.

"[The state Supreme Court] is one of the busiest appellate courts and courts of last resort of any jurisdiction in the country," Goodwin said. "Conversely, obviously cost is an issue ... It's not an easy issue by any means."

A first meeting date has not yet been set, but Goodwin said he hopes to get started "right away." The group's report to the governor is due Nov. 15.

"Time is of the essence," he said.

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.

Groups hail creation of commission

6/16/2009 7:20 PM
By Justin Anderson -Statehouse Bureau

Heath

Bailey
CHARLESTON - Legal advocacy groups hailed Gov. Joe Manchin's official creation of a nine-member commission to study the state's court system.

But while one of the groups said the commission is long overdue, the other is calling for an objective look at the system, free from special interest bias.

"This critical examination of West Virginia's judiciary is long overdue," said Richie Heath, executive director of the non-profit West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. "For years now, our court system has been the object of much local and national criticism, which drives well paying jobs to other states."

Meanwhile, Timothy Bailey, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice -- a plaintiffs' lawyer group -- said it's important to disregard the "judicial hellhole" status groups have heaped on the state.

"It is our hope that this commission will take the time to study our courts objectively and address any identified issues in a way that is fair for every West Virginian," Bailey said. "It is critical that we do not fall victim to preconceived notions about what some people say is wrong with our courts when the evidence does not support those conclusions."

Heath said the state's court system as it is now "attracts lawsuits and repels economic growth." He noted that West Virginia is one of only a handful of states that elects its judges through partisan elections.

Heath also called on the governor's commission to consider the state Supreme Court's recusal process for justices, which leaves it up to the individual justice to decide.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision found that Chief Justice Brent Benjamin was wrong to not step down from voting on a Massey Energy appeal when the coal company's chief, Don Blankenship, spent $3 million to help get Benjamin elected in 2004.

"The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision ... leaves many questions unanswered about the future of our state judiciary," Heath said. "If we are to continue electing our judges, (the commission) must balance the need for a clearer recusal standard with the First Amendment rights of all West Virginians to participate in judicial elections."

Bailey, meanwhile, said the commission should focus on limits to campaign contributions.

"There is no right more fundamental to a democracy that the right for West Virginia citizens to elect their public officials-including their judges and justices," Bailey said. "We believe that the biggest problem is not the elections themselves, but the enormous amount of money being spent in them. The commission should look at public financing for the candidates and full disclosure of the monies funding third party campaigns."

Heath called on the commission to focus on what he called the need to create an intermediate appellate court system, which would give parties a full airing of appeals.

Health further urged the commission to recommend stronger venue standards to cut back on the perceived prevalence of individual plaintiffs bringing suit in West Virginia that involve flimsy connections to the state in hopes of finding a sympathetic jury.

Bailey said his group would like to see the development of a data collection system that would give a more accurate picture of the state's courts.

"Too many of the discussions on our courts are based on incomplete information or hearsay," Bailey said. "Until we have comprehensive, accurate data we cannot make sound decisions on our court system."

The commission's report to the governor is due Nov. 15. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has agreed to head up the commission as honorary chairwoman.

Judge lifts stay on Massey case against Supreme Court

6/17/2009 12:00 PM
By Justin Anderson -Kanawha Bureau

CHARLESTON - U.S. District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver on Tuesday put back on the active docket a case filed by Massey Energy targeting the West Virginia Supreme Court's recusal process.

The coal company filed an action for declaratory judgment and an injunction against the court's rule that permits justices to decide for themselves whether or not to step down from hearing a case.

Massey maintains the rule violates due process rights.

The action was stayed in November 2008 while the U.S. Supreme Court considered an appeal filed by coal operator Hugh Caperton targeting Massey and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin.

Caperton had argued -- and the U.S. Supreme Court by majority agreed last week -- that Benjamin should not have voted in Massey's appeal of a $50 million verdict in Caperton's mining company's favor.

Caperton contended that Benjamin had impartiality issues in the case because Massey chief Don Blankenship spent about $3 million on a campaign targeting Benjamin's opponent in the 2004 election, former Justice Warren McGraw.

In his order lifting the stay, Copenhaver ordered both sides to file a joint case management report by June 29 laying out how the case can be brought to a conclusion.

U.S. District Court case number: 2:06-0614

Former U.S. justice will serve on governor's court commission

6/15/2009 2:39 PM
By Justin Anderson -Statehouse Bureau

O'Connor
CHARLESTON - Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has agreed to serve as the honorary chairwoman of Gov. Joe Manchin's special commission on state courts, his office announced today.

"We are truly honored that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has accepted my invitation to serve as the Honorary Chairwoman of this important commission," Manchin said in a statement. "She brings special expertise and a wealth of knowledge to this panel."

The commission was created through an executive order signed by Manchin earlier this year.

It's goal is to study whether reforms should be implemented in the state's judiciary, including whether to continue with partisan elections for judges or switch to merit-based selection; whether to start a court that handles only business disputes; tweaking campaign finance reporting; and whether to create an intermediate court of appeals.

The commission's report to the governor is due on Nov. 15, 2009.

Other members of the commission include:

-Carte Goodwin, Manchin's former general counsel now in private practice;

-Joyce McConnel, dean of West Virginia University's law school;

-Sandra Chapman, president of the State Bar;

-Caprice Roberts, associate dean of the WVU law school;

-Lawyers Thomas Heywood, Marvin Masters, Andy MacQueen and John McCuskey; and

-Mary McQueen, president of the National Center for State Courts.

Manchin commented that all the appointees are "extremely qualified" to carry out the study assignments.

The appointments come on the heels of a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving state Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin.

Last week, the federal court, in a 5-4 ruling, said Benjamin should have stepped down in a case involving Massey Energy.

The justices said the $3 million Massey CEO Don Blankenship spent to unseat Benjamin's opponent in the 2004 election was excessive and created a probability of bias.

Despite Blankenship's involvement, Benjamin repeatedly refused to recuse himself from hearing Massey's appeal of a $50 million verdict in Boone County. The winning side of that verdict, Harman Mining Company, had requested Benjamin step down from the case.

Benjamin had twice voted in favor of overturning the verdict.

Harman's operator, Hugh Caperton, appealed Benjamin's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in last week's decision.

It is unknown when or how the state Supreme Court will reconsider the Massey appeal in the wake of the decision.

The state Supreme Court's recusal rules leave it up to the individual justice to decide whether or not to step down.

Massey has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Charleston targeting the rules, arguing that they violate a party's right to due process.

The judge in that case has yet to return the case to the active docket after both sides agreed to a stay of the matter until the U.S. Supreme Court spoke on the Caperton appeal.