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The West Virginia Independent Commission on Judicial Reform released its final report on the subject this week after West Virginia has had a long standing reputation for being a "judicial hell hole." Since then, state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, D-2nd District, and 2012 gubernatorial candidate, has formed some opinions on the subject and discussed the issue with community members and Davis & Elkins College students and staff Thursday evening at Halliehurst.

The state Constitution calls for the election of judges and in order to reverse the binding document voters would have to cast a ballot for an amendment that would allow judges to be appointed. Ultimately, Kessler thinks the choice of judges should be left to voters. However, a variety of voting and nomination processes will be seen in action during the next few years in order to give residents a full understanding of methods before they may be asked to make a decision to change the Constitution, Kessler explained.

The death of West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Joseph Albright in March has left a vacancy on the court and now Gov. Joe Manchin must appoint his replacement. The nomination process will give residents the opportunity to see how it works and make an informed decision if ever asked to vote on a Constitutional Amendment to change how judges are selected, Kessler explained.

"One of the drawbacks of the appointment method is ... disenfranchising the public," Kessler said. "I don't know that a panel of nine or 15 people ... is an appropriate method. All selection methods are political at the bottom line. The question becomes: Are we going to have West Virginians making that political decision at the ballot box or are we going to have a group of a star chamber of nine or 15 people appointed by the governor or someone else to make that selection?"

The appointment method is known as the Missouri plan, but even that state is reconsidering its own process. Kessler explained that people battle just to be on the committee that recommends justices.

"It's worse than the elections themselves," Kessler commented.

In 2012, two Supreme Court seats will be up for election and Kessler hopes that at least one of the positions' campaigns can be funded with public money. With this process, a candidate must be able to show that he or she has enough support among voters in order to receive campaign money from public funds, Kessler said.

Kessler also thinks that creating an appellate court may change people's and businesses' views of the West Virginia legal system. After a party looses in Circuit Court, the next step is the state Supreme Court, which can decline to hear a case without giving a reason. With an appellate court, a party would receive a written explanation why their case would or would not be heard or why the opinion of the circuit court was right or wrong, Kessler explained.

"People would suggest that it would lend to a fairer perception of our court system," Kessler said.

Kessler added that the West Virginia Supreme Court is ranked as the second busiest in the country with approximately 4,000 cases each year.

Creating an appellate court system would cost approximately $8 million, but Kessler says the investment could help the state.

"It may sound like a lot of money, but in the big scheme of things it isn't all that much if it really would help to increase public confidence in the judiciary," he said. "I would suggest to you that that's something we should consider and explore as a Legislature."

The D&E Criminology and Criminal Justice program presented the event.