CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Supreme Court Chief Justice Tim Armstead began his first full 12-year-term on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on Tuesday by pledging to continue to work to restore public confidence in the state court system.
“I feel deeply honored and deeply privileged to be a member of this Court,” Chief Justice Armstead said. “It is important that the people of our state have respect for their Court.”
Chief Justice Tim Armstead was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Jim Justice in September 2018. He was elected November 6, 2018, to retain the seat until the end of the term on December 31, 2020, and was re-elected June 9, 2020, to a 12-year term that will begin on January 1, 2021.
He has served as Chief Justice since January 1, 2020, and has led the judiciary through the COVID pandemic with the same integrity, hard work and attention to detail that he brought to other jobs in this career, said speakers at the investiture ceremony in the Supreme Court Courtroom.
“Two things stand out when I think of Tim: His character and his life of principle,” said Senior Judge David A. Faber of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, who delivered the oath of office.
“I look at your colleagues on the Court and I am convinced this court will be one of the finest this state has seen in its history,” Judge Faber said.
Judge Faber and Chief Justice Armstead worked at the same law firm when Judge Faber was appointed to the federal bench. Chief Justice Armstead became one of Judge Faber’s first law clerks.
“His public service has reflected his personality,” Judge Faber said. “Tim is the epitome of what I consider to be a Christian gentleman.”
Chief Justice Armstead’s daughter, Katie Armstead Ferrari, introduced her father before he took the oath of office, saying he was a man of integrity, responsibility, loyalty and leadership.
Justices Margaret Workman, Beth Walker, Evan Jenkins and John Hutchison thanked Chief Justice Armstead for his work leading the court system through the COVID pandemic this year.
“I can’t think of anybody who would have been a better Chief this year,” Justice Beth Walker said.
The past year “has been the hardest year I can recall us ever having to face,” Justice Workman said. “I have gotten to know Tim Armstead pretty well. In Tim Armstead I have seen an excellent work ethic. I have seen a person who is thoughtful, who is open and willing to listen to other people’s ideas. . . . He is a really kind, caring person.”
Before he was appointed to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Armstead was Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was a member of the House from 1998 to 2018. He became Minority Leader in 2006 and Speaker in 2015.
He previously worked as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff of Governor Cecil Underwood.
He is a graduate of the University of Charleston and West Virginia University College of Law. He lives in Elkview with his wife, Anna, and they have one daughter and two grandchildren.
