Is there a better way to head for the high court in West Virginia?

Last Novembers Supreme Court contest between Warren McGraw and Brent Benjamin turned out to be the most expensive election in state history. Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum labeled it one of the more contentious campaigns in the country between an incumbent and a newcomer challenger.

A host of regional and national policy makers will look at the states Supreme Court election process in a Wednesday, Jan. 19, forum,Choosing Our Judges: The Present and Future,at West Virginia Universitys College of Law.

The forum, hosted by the law schools Class of 2007, will be held at 4 p.m. in the Lugar Courtroom, at the law facility on the Evansdale campus.

The (McGraw-Benjamin) race inspired the forum,said law student Tom ONeill, who is helping organize the event,but we want to stress that this is a nonpartisan gathering. We just wanted to spark an academic discussion with lots of different sources. We want to talk about our system of choosing judges in this state, and whether or not we can come up with something better.

Scheduled to appear are Kenny Purdue, the head of the states AFL -CIO contingent; state Del. Jon Amores, D-Kanawha, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee; and ShermanTigerJoyce, the president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association.

Morgantown attorney Al Karlin will participate on behalf of the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; representatives from the state Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Attorneys of West Virginia advocacy group will also be on hand.

We just wanted to get a real cross-section of the state,ONeill said.Maybe this panel can contribute to a resolution. At any rate, we plan on getting a lot of information out there.

And information, panel moderator Caprice Roberts said, is the watchword for the event.

We are hoping there will be a large turnout so that the community can engage in a dialogue about this important issue,said Roberts, a College of Law professor and authority on the judiciary.There are plenty of alternatives out there. For example, judges can be appointed, elected through nonpartisan elections or selected through an appointment process combined with a retention election.

Roberts will give brief capsules of those alternatives while introducing the program and posing a series of questions to the panel. After that, the floor is open to audience questions.

A reception will follow at 5:45 p.m.

This is just a great opportunity to simply talk about it,she said.People definitely have opinions. Now were going to look at the options.

The forum is sponsored by the state Chamber of Commerce; Consumer Attorneys of West Virginia; the state AFL -CIO; the West Virginia Association of Trial Lawyers; and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.

Is there a better way to head for the high court in West Virginia?

Last Novembers Supreme Court contest between Warren McGraw and Brent Benjamin turned out to be the most expensive election in state history. Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum labeled it one of the more contentious campaigns in the country between an incumbent and a newcomer challenger.

A host of regional and national policy makers will look at the states Supreme Court election process in a Wednesday, Jan. 19, forum,Choosing Our Judges: The Present and Future,at West Virginia Universitys College of Law.

The forum, hosted by the law schools Class of 2007, will be held at 4 p.m. in the Lugar Courtroom, at the law facility on the Evansdale campus.

The (McGraw-Benjamin) race inspired the forum,said law student Tom ONeill, who is helping organize the event,but we want to stress that this is a nonpartisan gathering. We just wanted to spark an academic discussion with lots of different sources. We want to talk about our system of choosing judges in this state, and whether or not we can come up with something better.

Scheduled to appear are Kenny Purdue, the head of the states AFL -CIO contingent; state Del. Jon Amores, D-Kanawha, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee; and ShermanTigerJoyce, the president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association.

Morgantown attorney Al Karlin will participate on behalf of the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; representatives from the state Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Attorneys of West Virginia advocacy group will also be on hand.

We just wanted to get a real cross-section of the state,ONeill said.Maybe this panel can contribute to a resolution. At any rate, we plan on getting a lot of information out there.

And information, panel moderator Caprice Roberts said, is the watchword for the event.

We are hoping there will be a large turnout so that the community can engage in a dialogue about this important issue,said Roberts, a College of Law professor and authority on the judiciary.There are plenty of alternatives out there. For example, judges can be appointed, elected through nonpartisan elections or selected through an appointment process combined with a retention election.

Roberts will give brief capsules of those alternatives while introducing the program and posing a series of questions to the panel. After that, the floor is open to audience questions.

A reception will follow at 5:45 p.m.

This is just a great opportunity to simply talk about it,she said.People definitely have opinions. Now were going to look at the options.

The forum is sponsored by the state Chamber of Commerce; Consumer Attorneys of West Virginia; the state AFL -CIO; the West Virginia Association of Trial Lawyers; and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.