On August 23, the West Virginia Supreme Court said it will hear Blankenship v Warner, 18-0712, on Wednesday, August 29, at 10 a.m. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news. This is the case over whether the Constitution Party nominee will be on the ballot for U.S. Senate.
I guess I’ll post first before Demo Rep flaps his gums or Ogle posts his parliament spam. The judges in this case are as follows:
* Chief Justice Margaret Workman (Democrat, elected before non-partisan elections),
* Justice Elizabeth “Beth” Walker (Republican – although elected as non-partisan in ’16, she ran and lost the same election as a Republican to now resigned Democrat Menis Ketchum in ’08),
* Attorney Paul Farrell (Democrat – lost to Bernie Sanders for US President in ’16 primary, appointed by Workman to temporarily fill in for suspended Allen Loughry),
* Judge Darrell Pratt (Wayne County Circuit Judge – elected nonpartisan, appointed by Workman to temporarily fill in for resigned Menis Ketchum),
* Judge Alan Moats (Barbour & Taylor County Circuit Judge – appointed by Governor Gaston Caperton in 1996, appointed by Workman to temporarily fill in for resigned Robin Davis).
So there you have it: Two known Democrats, two appointed by a Democrat, and one Republican. Of course I realize that judges are supposed to be unbiased and not let their political leanings influence their decisions, but we all know what a crock that is. IMO, this lineup bodes well for Mr. Blankenship and not so much for the GOP in this case.
NONPARTISAN election of all judges via nonpartisan AppV – pending Condorcet.
Since 2016, West Virginia does elect all judges by nonpartisan ballots.