A dozen people have applied to be the next state Supreme Court justice.
The 12, in alphabetical order, are Laura Faircloth, David Gilbert, Daniel Greear, Eric Hudnall, E. Ryan Kennedy, Brenden Long, Elgine McArdle, R. Steven Redding, Robert Ryan, Martin Sheehan, Gerald Titus III and Zachary Viglianco.
Those on the list submitted their names to the state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission to fill the seat left open by the August death of Justice Tim Armstead. The filing deadline was October 6.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office provided the list of names to The West Virginia Record.
The JVAC is scheduled to conduct interviews with the applicants on October 20. The commission then will submit a list of recommendations to the governor’s office. Morrisey can appoint someone from the list or select someone else.
A quick look at the applicants:
Faircloth is a circuit judge from the Eastern Panhandle.Gilbert is an attorney with the state Attorney General’s office and former clerk for Armstead.Greear is a judge on the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, a former circuit court judge and former chief counsel for the House of Delegates.Hudnall is a staff attorney for the state Supreme Court.Kennedy is the state Secretary of Veteran’s Assistance and a former mayor of Clarksburg.Long is an attorney from Putnam County. He previously sought a vacant Supreme Court seat in 2018.McArdle is a Wheeling attorney and former chairwoman for the state Republican Party. She previously ran for the Intermediate Court of Appeals.Redding is a circuit court judge from the Eastern Panhandle.Ryan is the Hardy County prosecuting attorney and a former circuit court judge.Sheehan is a Wheeling attorney who applied for a vacancy on the Supreme Court in 2018 and later ran for the seat.Titus is an attorney for Spilman Thomas Battle in its Charleston office.Viglianco is the principal deputy solicitor general for the Nebraska AG’s office. He sought a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court earlier this year when Justice Beth Walker retired. “Legally speaking, I would say I am ‘domiciled’ in West Virginia,” Viglianco told The West Virginia Record then.
