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Wharton on assignment with West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

(Court Reports - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

CHARLESTON — Fourth Judicial Circuit (Wirt and Wood Counties) Judge Jason A. Wharton will sit by temporary assignment on the Supreme Court of Appeals for two cases today.

When a Supreme Court Justice is unable to serve in a case, Article VIII Section 2 of the Constitution of West Virginia allows the chief justice to assign a circuit court judge to serve. The visiting judge then participates in all private conferences and votes on that case.

Wharton will fill in for Justice Haley Bunn, who is recused from two cases that have been consolidated for argument: Jay Longerbeam v. Shepherd University, Case No 22-609, and Donald Buracker v. Shepherd University, Case No. 22-610.

The two Rule 20 argument cases will be heard at 10 a.m. Cases set for Rule 20 arguments involve issues of first impression or of fundamental public importance; constitutional questions regarding the validity of a statute, municipal ordinance, or court ruling; and cases involving inconsistencies or conflicts among the decisions of lower tribunals.

Wharton is a lifelong resident of Wood County. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from West Virginia University and a law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law.

Wharton was elected in May 2016 in the Fourth Judicial Circuit (Wirt and Wood Counties). He took office on January 1, 2017. He currently serves as the Chief Judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit. He presides over both the Mid-Ohio Valley Adult Drug Court and the Wood County Family Treatment Court.

Wharton serves on the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission and Mass Litigation Panel.

He previously was the elected Wood County Prosecuting Attorney for eight years and before that was an assistant prosecutor for 10 years. He was cross-designated as a special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. Prior to joining the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office, he worked for the law firm Albright, Bradley and Ellison.

Wharton served as a board member of the Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley and United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley. He was a board member and past president of the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Foundation and a member and past chairman of the West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Executive Committee.

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