CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted the stay on legislative action by Josh Booth following oral arguments regarding filling the District 19 House of Delegates vacancy,
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The West Virginia Supreme Court gave the green light for the governor’s appointment of a state lawmaker caught in the middle of a Republican dispute.
After a hearing on Tuesday, the court rejected a challenge by officials in Wayne County who alleged Republican Gov. Jim Justice did not follow state law when he filled a vacant seat in the legislature last month.
Republican Del. Joshua Booth will be allowed to assume his duties as a legislator after the court rescinded a block on him taking office. The legislature will begin its annual 60-day session on Wednesday.
The seat was formerly held by Derrick Evans, who resigned after being charged with illegally entering the U.S. Capitol in the Jan. 6 riot with a mob of Donald Trump supporters.
For The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON Gov. Jim Justice’s pick to replace a former a Wayne County Republican lawmaker was upheld Tuesday by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
In an order released Tuesday evening, the state Supreme Court denied the mandamus case filed by Wayne County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Jeff Maynard asking the high court to order Justice to appoint a replacement for former Republican 19th District House of Delegates member Derrick Evans from a list of three nominees submitted by the county on Jan. 14.
The order paves the way for Kenova resident Joshua Booth, co-owner of a traffic control company that does business with the Division of Highways, to be sworn in for today’s first day of the 2021 legislative session.
CHARLESTON – On the eve of oral arguments, the state Court denied a former candidate’s motion to intervene in the case regarding the legality of the appointment to fill a House of Delegates vacancy from Wayne County.
In the February 8 motion, the court also allowed petitioner Jeff Maynard, the chairman of the Wayne County Republican Executive Committee, to file a reply to a response despite a filed opposition from Gov. Jim Justice’s office and the state Republican Party. The motion also allowed Jason Stephens, the candidate who hoped to intervene in the case as a party, to file an amicus brief.
“The governor does not have the discretion” to fill a vacancy in the 19th Delegate District by selecting from a list of candidates supplied by the state Republican Party, argues Wayne County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Jeff Maynard. Such an appointment would “usurp the statutory rights of the Wayne County Republican Executive Committee members of the 19th Delegate District as well as their constituents.”
Maynard insists that Gov. Jim Justice is obligated to fill the vacancy with one of three names presented to him by the Wayne County GOP Executive Committee.
“The state committee has no authority under the law to inject a veto or control the process,” says attorney John Bryan, who is representing Maynard.