CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Senate Judiciary Committee is working over a bill to create an intermediate appeals court. Monday was the panel’s second day of deliberations, with most of the two-plus hour sessions taken up by questions from two members who question the need for the court.
The bill is SB 341.
Danielle Waltz, representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that statute and court rulings often don’t match and there’s no adequate body of case law available to give her clients guidance. An intermediate court, with power to set judicial precedence, would help build up that body of law and provide some predictability.
Under the bill’s current version, six judges, appointed by the governor to 10-year terms, would hear appeals of circuit court rulings, Workers’ Compensation Board of Review and Public Service Commission decisions, and appeals of misdemeanor convictions.
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