PARKERSBURG - Before an enthusiastic crowd Wood County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Beane announced he is a candidate for one of two open seats on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Beane made his announcement Thursday afternoon in the lobby of the soon-to-open Wood County Justice Center.
A Democrat, Beane will be running in the May 2012 primary for the 12-year Supreme Court justice term.
Beane said running for the Supreme Court will not only give him an opportunity to serve the citizens of Wood County but those of West Virginia.
The Supreme Court, unlike the circuit court, is set up to help with policy as seen this past week with truancy, Beane said.
"One thing we've all heard is that no one is above the law," he said. "But I feel it is important to understand and realize that no one should be below the law."
Beane said many groups, such as children, need to have access to the court system.
"There are many things I think need to be addressed that are obviously difficult to do from the bench at the circuit court," he said. "You just don't realize that as great as we think a community is, there are many different problems I encounter."
Beane said a recent case involving a child is an example.
"I had an instance in an abuse and neglect case where there was a meth lab in a house," he said.
"The police went in and found a child who was more than 12 months old, gray in color and blue lips and weighed nine pounds."
At the time, he said, the officers were not sure the child was living.
"We need to figure how to work together to make sure something like that does not happen again," he said.
Beane was appointed by Gov. Joe Manchin on Dec. 15, 2006 to replace Judge George Hill, who resigned. Before becoming a circuit judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, he was in private practice from 1990-2006. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1990-2006.
During his tenure in the House he served on committees such as Government Organization (chairman), Joint Committee on Government Operations (co-chairman), insurance (chairman), banking (vice-chairman), judiciary finance, constitutional revisions, industry and labor, Joint Committee on Interstate Cooperation (co-chairman), rules, and West Virginia Law Institute.
Gov. Bob Wise appointed Beane to serve as a member of the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Families and named him to serve as a member of the Commission of Governing in the 21st Century.
Beane holds a law degree from Capital University Law School, attended summer school at Ohio State University College of Law and Oxford University and received a bachelor of arts degree from West Virginia University.
