Exaltation from one branch of state government greeted the appointment of Kanawha County’s Daniel Greear to the new state Intermediate Court of Appeals this week.
On Tuesday, Governor Jim Justice appointed the three judges who will be the first to preside on the state’s new court panel.
Praise immediately came from both State Senate President Craig Blair and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw regarding the appointment of former Kanawha County Circuit Judge Dan Greear to a 5-1/2-year term.
In his career, Greear has served both as a member of the state House of Delegates from Kanawha County and as a Circuit Judge.
The top two state legislators were profuse in their praise of Greear.
“When the House voted on this bill, I said it strikes a good balance of what our institutions of government should be, and I believe that even more so, especially after hearing the names of our new judges, one of whom I’ve worked closely with for years,” said Blair.
“In addition to many other distinctions throughout his career, Dan Greear has served as counsel to the House Speaker for several years, and I have all the confidence in the world in his abilities. He has served both as a legislator and a judge in the past, and has performed both roles with dignity.” said the President.
It might be expected that the pair would react with such joy at Greear’s appointment since they were all once legislative colleagues. And Greear is obviously qualified for the job, with tons of experience. His drive and competence give him the major characteristics of a great jurist.
So I join with GOP legislative leadership in high praise for Dan Greear. Hopefully, citizens will watch him more closely this time and give him a big deserved re-election when the time comes.
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The half year added to each term sets it up for elections to fall on the same year as other elected officials. The new court kicks into gear July 1, 2022.
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Obviously, based on the appointments, retired Greenbrier County Judge James Rowe is not in quite the same favor he has been.
Rowe, the senior status judge from Nicholas County, was overlooked by Justice this time although he was among those recommended to Justice.
Rowe was the leading wage earner when legislative auditors found that a few had received more money than the law allows. Rowe topped the list.
The Supreme Court said it put new procedures in place to prohibit over billing in the future.
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Justice appointed Thomas E. Scarr of Huntington for a term of two-and-a-half years; and Donald A. Nickerson Jr., of Wheeling, for a term of six-and-one-half years. So the panel will be geographically diverse.
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It seems that new Republican Greenbrier County Delegate Michael Honaker may be just as responsive as most important GOP officials around the state.
The new delegate had little time after being sworn in to replace Barry Bruce, who resigned for health reasons, to drive a reader (no pun intended) to contact me about the man’s vehicle driving habits.
According to the reader, Honaker was seen driving his vehicle with out of state plates shortly after Justice appointed him.
“Why can he get away with that? He’s the Greenbrier County 911 director, a new legislator and doesn’t live here?” the astute reader asked.
A call to Greenbrier Homeland Security indicates he might be AWOL there as well. I told the very nice lady who answered that I needed to speak with Honaker. She acted as if it might have been the first time anyone ever asked for him before.
First, she said he was out and not expected back. Then she said, no, he “might” be back. So I left a message.
A week has gone by without a return call. So if you live in his district and see him out tooling around in his Virginia car, ask him to call me.