Mon County Bar Association hosts candidate forum

The Monongalia County Bar Association hosted a candidate forum for the three circuit court candidates on Thursday night.

“The judge you decide to support is an important impactful decision,” MCBA President Travis Prince said.

Circuit court judges have a real day-to-day impact in the lives of area residents, Prince said. They hear civil cases about any matter over $7,500, hear felony and misdemeanor criminal cases, appeals from family and magistrate court and child abuse and neglect cases that flood the system.

Rock the Vote gave voters, lawyer and not, a chance to hear from each candidate and was held over Facebook Live.

All candidates are running for the 17th Judicial Circuit Division 2 seat.

Chief Circuit Judge Debra Scudiere was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice when Judge Russell Clawges retired and is running to retain the seat for another four years. She said her 37 years of experience and service to the legal community make her qualified for the position and led to an easy transition into being a judge.

Since taking the bench, Scudiere has held over 1,100 hearings, presided over trials that went to verdict, is the chief judge and judge of adult drug court. She is also on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals mass litigation panel.

Michael Simms said he wants to bring balance to the court while bringing energy and vision. He said his campaign isn’t closely aligned with law enforcement and he’s fought his entire career for a more robust justice system.

He said he’s the only candidate with ideas and plans to improve the court and if elected he will start a veteran’s court and a voluntary mentorship program to improve the quality of lawyers in the county.

Cindy Scott was born in Mon County, grew up here, went to WVU and graduated from WVU College of Law. She started as a criminal defense attorney handling court appointed cases before becoming an assistant prosecutor for 10 years. She currently works for WVU.

All of Scott’s experience is in Monongalia County and makes her uniquely qualified to be a judge here. While working as a prosecutor, she saw people start with small crimes, re-offend and escalate through the criminal justice system.

She said she’s come up through the ranks and “not afraid to issue sentences that might send someone to prison.”

All of the candidates agreed that technology has and will play an important role going forward and dealing with COVID-19. All agreed that judges should rule from the bench more often than not and issue as fast a resolution as possible when they can’t.

They also all agreed it’s a judge’s job to interpret the law, not make it.

Scudiere said she’s had some tough decisions to make but that she can’t make the law and had to make ruling she didn’t like. Scott said she thinks judges play an important role in reform, but it should be through documentation of trends and through proper channels. Simms said judicial activism is wrong and as a judge he would apply the law fairly and equally.

Scott said she’s not against a veteran’s court but that veteran’s can already access resources through drug courts. She also said starting new courts is a funding issue.

Scudiere said she isn’t against a veteran’s court but that veterans can ask for a referral to drug court and access some services through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A veterans court isn’t like a drug court because the issues facing a veteran could be PTSD, head trauma or some other condition, Simms said. He also said the current drug courts aren’t working.

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