West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Jenkins to resign
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CHARLESTON -- Evan Jenkins, who just finished a year serving as chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, announced he would step down from the high court Sunday, Feb. 6.
In a statement released by the Supreme Court Friday afternoon, Jenkins said he would resign effective Sunday, Feb. 6. Jenkins said he would return to his private law practice.
"I came to the Supreme Court with a promise to restore the public's trust and confidence in the Court. Working with my colleagues, we have made much progress," Jenkins said. "The time is right for me to return to working on projects and progress for a better West Virginia. I want to express my appreciation to my fellow justices for their leadership and dedicated public service. I have enjoyed working with them all."
On Friday, Jenkins hand-delivered his resignation letter to Gov. Jim Justice, who will be tasked with appointing a replacement justice once the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Committee begins work on accepting applications on possible recommendations.
"Evan has devoted his entire life to public service and, on behalf of all West Virginians, we thank him," Justice said in a statement. "It was one of my highest honors to appoint Evan to our Supreme Court in 2018 and, since then, he and his colleagues have restored honor and integrity to our court. I look forward to appointing a new justice who can fill his shoes and carry the torch of honor and integrity well into the future."
Jenkins, a former state lawmaker and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. was appointed to the Supreme Court by Justice in 2018, replacing Robin Davis who resigned after being named in several articles of impeachment by the House of Delegates.
The impeachment process came out of investigations into spending by the court, use of court property for personal use and the actions by former chief justice Allen Loughry that led to his federal conviction in 2018, which was preceded by a resignation and plea deal by former justice Menis Ketchum.
By the end of 2018, both Jenkins and Justice Tim Armstead, who Justice appointed to replace Ketchum, won special elections. Current Chief Justice John Hutchison who won a special election in 2020, was appointed to replace Loughry, who was released from a federal halfway house earlier this month after serving his sentence. Armstead won a full 12-year term in 2020 and Hutchison won a special election to fill the remainder of Loughry's term. Both Jenkins and Hutchison will be up for full 12-year terms in 2024
Jenkins just wrapped up a one-year rotating term as chief justice, focusing on rebuilding the public's trust in the state and county judicial system after the Loughry and Ketchum scandals and the impeachment of the court prior to his appointment. Jenkins spent 2021 working on outreach, video live-stream chats with school students, creating educational videos about the court's role and history.
In his resignation letter, Jenkins also praises the court's work in reducing costs, cutting the court's budget without sacrificing services, expanding family and veteran drug treatment courts, implementing a new civility oath for lawyers and returning more than $10 million in carryover funds to the state.
"My public and community service has always been about fighting for a better West Virginia," Jenkins wrote. "I truly believe our state's future has never been brighter."
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.