Tim Armstead (right), former speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, is sworn in as a West Virginia Supreme Court justice Tuesday by his former House chief of staff, Kanawha Circuit Judge Dan Greear, in the state Supreme Court chamber on Tuesday.
Tim Armstead (right), former speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, is sworn in as a West Virginia Supreme Court justice Tuesday by his former House chief of staff, Kanawha Circuit Judge Dan Greear, in the state Supreme Court chamber on Tuesday.
Tim Armstead said Tuesday he’s excited to get to work to restore West Virginians’ confidence in the state Supreme Court — even though it means serving on the bench with at least three justices whom he voted to impeach last month, while he was still speaker of the House of Delegates.
“This past year has been very challenging to our judiciary system,†Armstead said during his swearing-in ceremony in front of family, friends and others in the Supreme Court chamber. “I know that it’s really a time that none of us would have wished on the state of West Virginia, but I’ll also say this — I’m optimistic of where we are going now.â€
Armstead took the oath of office a little more than 24 hours after the Supreme Court — made up currently of circuit judges from around the state, after all of the regular justices recused themselves — dismissed a petition that challenged the appointment of Armstead and Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., to the court.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Dan Greear administered the oath of office. Greear was Armstead’s chief of staff in the House before Gov. Jim Justice appointed him to be a circuit judge in July.
Last month, the governor appointed Armstead and Jenkins to temporarily serve on the court in place of former justices Menis Ketchum and Robin Davis. Ketchum announced his resignation on July 11, one day before Supreme Court impeachment proceedings began in the House. Davis resigned after she and other justices were impeached by the House, calling it a political witch hunt.
When he announced Armstead and Jenkins (both Republicans) to replace Ketchum and Davis (both elected as Democrats), Justice said it was important to appoint conservative justices to carry conservative values in the judicial system.
Jenkins, who still has not announced his resignation from Congress, is to be sworn in as a justice at 11 a.m. Monday.
On Tuesday, Armstead said his role on the court isn’t a political one.
“I think the place for the political philosophy is in the Legislature, in making the policy,†he said after the ceremony. “I think, when those policies come to us for review, we should look at what the Legislature intended those laws to say and apply them to the facts in a fair and impartial way.â€
Armstead’s appointment will last until after the Nov. 6 general election, when West Virginians will vote on who will serve the remainder of what was Ketchum’s term, which ends in 2020. Armstead is one of 10 candidates in the election for Ketchum’s seat.
Armstead, 53, of Elkview, was first elected to the House in 1998, and he became speaker in 2015 after Republicans took control of the Legislature.
As speaker, Armstead recused himself from presiding over impeachment proceedings in the House. He said he recused himself because he had expressed interest in seeking a Supreme Court seat in 2020. He also asked to be exempted from voting on impeachment matters, but House Speaker Pro Tempore John Overington, R-Berkeley, ruled that Armstead had to vote in the proceedings.
Now, Armstead is serving on a court with three justices who were impeached in the House — Chief Justice Margaret Workman, Justice Beth Walker and suspended Justice Allen Loughry. Walker attended the ceremony Tuesday.
Armstead didn’t want to talk about the impeachment process Tuesday.
“The justices have been very pleasant to me,†Armstead said. “I believe we just all know we have work to do to move forward in our court system, again, to restore the people’s confidence. I believe we’ll be able to work together to do that.â€
