The rich get richer and … well, you know the rest.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins entered an administrative order Monday appointing Senior Status Judge James Rowe to replace retiring Wyoming County Circuit Judge Warren McGraw until Governor Jim Justice names McGraw’s replacement.
Judge McGraw announced his retirement last month. He said he suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, making it difficult to discharge his duties. His retirement takes effect on June 21.
The Supreme Court says Rowe can begin hearing cases the next day.
Rowe’s been a senior status judge since his 2016 retirement. The former state legislator was circuit judge for 20 years in the 11th circuit that includes Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.
McGraw, 82, was a two-term member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates and then served three terms in the state Senate, rising to become president of that body. He won a Supreme Court seat in 1998.
The pattern of appointing Rowe to vacant judge positions has continued since he originally surprised colleagues by resigning his judge position.
That took Rowe off the Greenbrier County bench but he asserted at the time that he planned to “stay busy” as a senior status judge. We hardly knew the half of it.
When the court gave newly-elected Nicholas County Judge Stephen Callaghan two years off for ethical violations, Rowe took his place.
Rowe then became the center of attention when it was revealed that he led senior status judges in pay. The amount he received, in fact, represented an apparent overpayment, arguably violating state law.
At the time, auditors said the law prohibited senior status judges from.receiving more in retirement pay and salary than the salary of sitting judges.
The legislative audit said recipients of the overpayments received letters “vaguely alluding” to their overages.
In at least one instance, a different senior judge knew the payments to be “not proper” and returned them, the auditors said. An official said it was “common knowledge” that the Supreme Court paid retired judges as independent contractors to get around the salary cap required by state law.
Although overpaying judges like Rowe became part of impeachment efforts against four justices, I don’t see where Rowe or anyone else apologized for earning too much.
Imstead, it seems that the same senior judges keep being appointed, as Rowe now is in Wyoming County.
It was former Supreme Court Justice Thomas McHugh, who has served as a senior status judge, who returned the payments because he knew they were “not proper,” the audit says.
The audit also listed ten judges who were overpaid to serve as senior status judges from 2011 to 2017:
John L. Cummings, who received $942 extra in 2011 and $10,976 in 2014; Fred L. Fox, $13,773 in 2011; Andrew N. Frye, $1,995 in 2012; John L. Henning, $23,818 in 2013, $783 in 2015 and $10,551 in 2016; John S. Hrko, $3,953 in 2016; Thomas H. Keadle, $27,962 in 2013, $24,518 in 2014 and $21,570 in 2015; Arthur M. Recht, $278 in 2012; Rowe, $7,033 in 2016 and $55,064 in 2017; Larry V. Starcher, $9,930 in 2012 and $9,930 in 2013; and Thomas W. Steptoe, $35,925 in 2012 and $12,000 in 2014.
Originally, the legislature permitted the Supreme Court to put together a panel of retired “senior status judges” to fill in for absent or overloaded judges beginning in 1991.
Many retired judges say the system is overwhelmed with favoritism. Some say they have notified the court that they are available for senior status duty but have never been called.
“I’ve lived next door to two different counties where senior status judges were appointed,” said one retired judge on condition of anonymity. “I’ve never been called but they’ve appointed senior status judges from the other end of the state to fill in. It makes no sense. Surely it’s more expensive the farther a judge travels, especially if he has to stay in a hotel the entire time.”
Auditors found that over nine years, from 2009 through 2017, 34 judges were appointed senior status judges, while 16 were appointed five or more times and six were appointed every year. But ten received so few appointments they were in no danger of exceeding the pay limits.
Favoritism? Not in our court system.
The audit found that “The court’s Director of Finance indicated that it was common knowledge that the court engaged in this practice to get around the statutory cap and allow a Senior Status Circuit Court Judge to continue to receive their retirement while serving.”
A spokeswoman for the current court says they do monitor pay now to be sure it does not exceed legal limits.
In addition, the law itself has been amended to allow senior status combined pay to exceed sitting judges in special circumstances approved by the Chief Justice.
None of us want any more laws broken, I’m sure.
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… and the poor get poorer.