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Supreme Court: Five-way race to complete late justice’s term

CHARLESTON – This year’s May primary serves as the general election for two races for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

In the first, the justice appointed to the seat vacated following the death of Justice Tim Armstead faces four challengers in his bid to complete the term, which runs through 2032.

Armstead, 60, died in August due to complications from cancer. A 20-year member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and former House speaker, Armstead was appointed to the state Supreme Court by then-Gov. Jim Justice in 2018, re-elected to serve the remainder of former Justice Menis Ketchum’s term later that year, and elected in 2020 to a full 12-year term.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced last November the appointment of Charleston attorney Gerald M. Titus III to serve on the state’s highest court and succeed Armstead until the May special election.

Titus is in a five-way race to determine who will serve the remainder of Armstead’s term, which runs through 2032.

“As a Supreme Court Justice, my job is to apply the law as written and to faithfully adhere to the United States and West Virginia Constitutions,” Titus said. “It is imperative that the judiciary stay in its constitutional lane and not attempt to make policy or legislate.

“Cases should be decided based upon the law, not politics, social status or anything other than the law,” Titus continued. “This approach produces the clarity, predictability and stability necessary to move our state forward economically while also protecting our communities from those who would break the law. This can be accomplished while treating all parties before the Court with dignity and respect.”

Titus was an attorney with the Spilman Thomas and Battle law firm based in Charleston and a former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia working in the Violent Crime Division. He began his legal career at Allen Guthrie McHugh and Thomas PLLC. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in politics and American history, and later his law degree.

Twenty-Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge Laura V. Faircloth was first elected to the new 23rd circuit in 2016, which then also served Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties. Voters returned her to the bench in 2024 to serve in the new 27th circuit, which serves Berkeley and Morgan counties.

“My judicial philosophy is quite simple, as personified by Lady Justice, who carries a sword and a balanced set of scales and is blindfolded,” Faircloth said. “Her blindfold symbolizes the absence of bias or prejudice; hence, ‘justice is blind.’ The balanced scales represent a fair and balanced regard for truth and fairness. Finally, the sword symbolizes the power of the judiciary, which must be exercised with measured and tempered authority.

“In summary, then, Judicial officers must preside without bias or prejudice, balance truth and fairness, and responsibly exercise the power of the judiciary – which sometimes requires punishment, accountability, and restitution,” she continued. “The public must have confidence in the judiciary to exercise all of these functions, and my judicial philosophy includes my duty to be transparent and exercise these functions to the best of my ability.”

Faircloth led her own six-person law firm in Martinsburg. Prior to that, she was a partner at Preiser, Tabor, Lindsay and Coltelli (now Tabor Lindsay and Associates), which focuses on medical malpractice lawsuits. Her law career saw her work at Askin, Pill, Scales and Burke; Martin and Seibert; and Lewis, Ciccarello, Masinter and Friedberg. Faircloth has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Shepherd University and earned her law degree from West Virginia University.

Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Todd Kirby is in the middle if his first four-year term serving from the bench in Raleigh County. He was appointed by Justice to the remainder of a term in 2024, winning election to the seat that same year.

Kirby was previously a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, serving part of one two-year term beginning in 2023 in the 44th House District in Raleigh County.

“I see my role as a judge to be one of interpreting law and not legislating from the bench,” he said. “The Constitution and our laws mean what they say, and it is not the role of judges to revise, transform or bend them to fit personal preferences or political outcomes. I believe that respect for the law, precedent and our Constitution is what preserves our Republic and ensures liberty for the people.”

Kirby opened up his own law practice in Beckley in 2011 after earning his law degree from Liberty University. He also has several degrees from Marshall University. He has experience as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Raleigh County, where he handled child abuse and neglect cases.

“I serve and will continue to serve with humility and fairness,” Kirby said. “Coming from a working-class background, my courtroom is a place where every litigant receives the same respect and the same application of the law. Justice is not about who has the most resources or power, but about applying the law evenly and without favoritism.”

Senior Status Judge H.L. “Kirk” Kirkpatrick retired in 2024 after serving as a long-time circuit court judge in Raleigh County. A senior status judge is a former judge that can be recalled for temporary assignment by the state Supreme Court.

Kirkpatrick has more than 30 years of judicial experience, having served as the chief judge of the Raleigh County circuit. He administered the circuit’s juvenile drug court for 10 years and served as a member of the state Judicial Investigation Commission which enforces the Code of Judicial Conduct for sitting judges and justices.

“My judicial philosophy, shaped by three decades of judicial experience, is grounded in a commitment to the rule of law, judicial restraint, and the implementation of the plain wording of the Constitution,” Kirkpatrick said. “I believe that voters should judge a candidate based on their record, not vague promises of change or judicial activism.”

Kirkpatrick was first appointed to the bench in the then-10th Judicial Circuit by former Gov. Gaston Caperton in 1995, winning election to the bench in 1996. Prior to his judicial career, was an attorney with the law firm of Bailey, Worrell and Viars in Pineville, beginning in 1976; in a solo practice in Pineville from 1979 to 1985; and at Ashworth and Kirkpatrick from 1985 to 1995. Kirkpatrick is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a law degree from WVU.

“I stand on my record of achievement, which I invite all to examine,” he said. “I have presided over thousands of cases and have treated every lawyer and litigant in my courtroom with respect and common human decency. Everyone who comes to court deserves to have their cases decided impartially, based on the facts and the law. I am committed to ensuring that our courts remain fair, transparent and worthy of the public trust.”

Wheeling attorney Martin “Red Hat” Sheehan – who previously went by the nickname “Red Shoes” due to his flamboyant footwear – has been an attorney in private practice since 1990. He also has experience as a former assistant U.S. attorney and was an adjunct lecturer at the WVU College of Law. An email to Sheehan seeking comment was not returned.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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