MORGANTOWN — The normally bustling halls of Monongalia County Circuit Court will be unusually quiet over the next several days.
The three judges, Russell Clawges, Susan Tucker and Phillip Gaujot will attend an educational conference jointly sponsored by the West Virginia Judicial Association and West Virginia Supreme Courts of Appeals, Clawges said.
Clawges said the twice-a-year conference changes locations each time so judges in outlying counties don’t have to travel great distances each time. Morgantown is hosting this week’s conference.
The conference will run from noon today to noon Thursday, Clawges said.
All sitting and retired Circuit Court judges are welcome at the event, where judges will receive updates on a variety of legal topics including civil, criminal and family law, Clawges said. Abuse and neglect are also standard topics he said.
A speaker typically discusses nationally relevant topics, and past topics include The Innocence Project and problems with eye-witness identification. This year, the opioid crisis will be featured, Clawges said.
Clawges said he looks forward to the event where he and judges from across the state can discuss issues and collaborate. He said he believes collaboration between judges is important.
“I’m not a real big fan of reinventing the wheel,” Clawges said. “So if I’ve got something going on and I can find somebody else that’s dealt with it before and find out how they’ve handled it, helps a lot.”
Monongalia County Prosecutor Perri Jo DeChristopher said the brief respite in Circuit Court cases gives her office a “much needed” chance to catch up on paperwork and case preparations.
However, Magistrate Court is still open and she said her office will still be handling about 150 cases this week — a regular case load.
