W.Va. getting two new Supreme Court justices, new ICA judge

CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court soon will have two new justices, and the state Intermediate Court of Appeals also will have a new judge.

Bill Flanigan and H.L. “Kirk” Kirkpatrick both won seats on the court in Tuesday’s nonpartisan elections. They defeated incumbent Justices Tom Ewing and Gerald Titus, respectively, both of whom were appointed to the court by Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

Jim Douglas unseated incumbent Dan Greear in the ICA race. Greear was appointed to the newly created ICA in 2021 by former Gov. Jim Justice.

Because West Virginia judicial races are nonpartisan, they are decided in the primary election. With the two Supreme Court seats being unexpired terms, Kirkpatrick and Flanigan will seated as soon as the election is certified. Douglas will take the ICA bench in January because Greear’s term is not an unexpired one.

Flanigan is a Wheeling attorney and House of Delegates member. He will serve the remainder of Justice Beth Walker’s term until 2028. Walker retired last year. Flanigan received 59 percent of the vote Tuesday in his race.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the trust they (voters) have placed in me to serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals,” Flanigan said in a statement. “Our courts belong to the people, and tonight’s result reflects the enduring faith West Virginians place in the rule of law, fairness and constitutional government. …

“It is a victory for the belief that our courts must remain honest, principled, independent and firmly grounded in the rule of law.”

Kirkpatrick is a retired Raleigh Circuit Court judge. He will serve the rest of late Justice Tim Armstead’s term until 2032. In addition to Titus, Kirkpatrick also defeated Eastern Panhandle Circuit Judge Laura Faircloth, Raleigh Circuit Judge Todd Kirby and Wheeling attorney Martin Sheehan in Tuesday’s election. Kirkpatrick received 31 percent of the vote in that race.

Kirkpatrick credited social media in helping him win.

“My son helped me with social media,” he said. “We really worked hard. I had a very active Facebook page, and we were on YouTube, Instagram … you name it. If you stick with TV commercials, radio and newspaper only, you’re missing out on a big segment of potential voters now.”

Kirkpatrick also said he thinks his compassion helped his campaign.

“People want a tough judge … but people also respect compassion,” he said. “I think I offer that. I ran a drug court for 10 years. I’ve dealt with criminal cases for 30 years, and I’ve dealt with juveniles. Some people just deserve a second chance.

“To be a good judge, you have to have a healthy dose of compassion and kindness.”

He said he had a nice victory celebration with family, friends and campaign workers.

“We had a big apple pie my wife (Rebecca) made,” Kirkpatrick said. “She was going to serve crow pie if I lost, but I fortunately didn’t have to eat that.”

Douglas is a Kanawha County Family Court judge. He received 59 percent of the vote in the ICA race.

Douglas said he chose to run for the ICA to “protect children and help families.”

When the ICA was created in 2022, it was given jurisdiction over nearly all family court appeals. During his campaign, Douglas noted none of the sitting ICA judges had served as family court judges nor had practiced family law or handled divorce and child custody matters before taking the bench.

Douglas said he thinks his family court experience was a key part of his victory.

“I think the difference was my experience in family court, plus I had a statewide divorce practice for nearly 40 years,” Douglas said. “I appeared in court in 54 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.”

Douglas also said he believes West Virginians are tired of having judges appointed by sitting governors.

“I think people are saying we’re tired of having judges appointed for us,” he said. “In the end, people’s voices have to be heard. I think people are saying we want to elect our judges.”

Douglas, who was law school classmates with Kirkpatrick, said he vows to represent every West Virginian. He also said he appreciated everyone who voted for him and helped him during the campaign.

“There were hundreds of people who took a pen or nail file who said they would talk to a friend or a neighbor,” he said of the campaign trail. “There’s so many people who helped me.

“I have to give Phyllis (his significant other) a lot of credit. She did things and filled in for me while I was on the road. A lot of times, she drove me. Plus, she had to take care of her 94-year-old mother. And there were lots of people who helped me in this race. Here in Kanawha County, Salllie Robinson was a big, big help. And the DC Club … those guys who were tireless.

“I feel I’ve prepared all my life for this.”

Talking during MetroNews’ election night coverage, Morrisey discussed the Supreme Court races.

“Listen, I think one of the challenges with these judicial races when they’re held in a primary, and I always had some concerns about it, that it’s difficult for people to get known in a short period of time,” Morrisey told MetroNews. “And so I think they were wonderful picks, but both of them were relatively unknown. …

“And I think some of the other candidates brought some other advantages, in terms of their name ID, in terms of the resources that they could bring to bear. But I want to congratulate the justices who did prevail, and we’re going to want to work with everyone.”

In other West Virginia races, incumbent U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito cruised to the GOP nomination, easily defeating state Senator Tom Willis and four other challengers. Morgantown attorney and city council member Rachel Fetty Anderson defeated former state Senate President Jeff Kessler and three other challengers in the Democratic primary.

Incumbent U.S. Representative Carol Miller handily defeated challenger Larry Jackson in the 1st District Republican primary. Second District incumbent Riley Moore was not challenged on the GOP side.

Longtime public servant Vince George will face Miller in the fall general election after winning the Democratic primary over Logan County native Brit Aguirre. Stephanie Spears Tomana/Ace Parsi will go head-to-head against Moore in the race.

In state Senate races, the only incumbent who did not secure his nomination was Republicans T. Kevan Bartlett, who lost to Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler in the 8th District race.

In two closely watched state Senate races, incumbent Republicans Tom Takubo and Anne Charnock both won their 17th District races against attorney and former Delegate Chris Pritt and small business owner Michael Jarrouj, respectively.

In House of Delegates races, a handful of incumbent Republicans fell short in their re-election bids. Those are Mark Zatezalo (2nd District to Tony Viola), Jeff Stephens (6th to Don Dewitt), Bill Bell (8th to Steven L. Smith), Betsy J. Kelly (9th to Kerry Murphy), Bill Anderson (10th to Justin Beanard), Vernon Criss (12th to Charles D. Hartzog), Scot C. Heckert (13th to Melissa McGrady), Daniel Linville (22nd to Aaron Holley), Jordan Bridges (33rd District to Chris Tipton), Greg Watt (48th District to Mackenzie Holdren), Stanley Adkins (49th to Newt McCutcheon), Marshall Clay (51st District to Cy Persinger) and Laura Kimble (71st to Tim McNeely).