Former West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Richard Neely died quietly at his Charleston home Sunday, surrounded by family and friends. Neely was diagnosed with liver cancer just a few weeks ago, and the disease took him quickly. He was 79.
The first thing that must be said about Neely is that he was brilliant. He studied economics at Dartmouth College and graduated from Yale Law School. Those credentials alone put him in the upper tier of intellectual accomplishment.
He was also a patriot. Neely rose to the rank of Captain in the United States Army and served in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star.
Neely was elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court in 1972 when he was just 31, making him a legal boy wonder. He would serve two terms.
He wrote legal articles for national publications and authored books. His best known book, How Courts Govern America, was a must-read in judicial circles.
The National Review said of the book, “A witty defense of judicial activism by a young justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court.” The magazine also called Neely “refreshingly blunt.”
Which brings us to the rest of the story about Richard Neely.
To say he was “blunt” is like saying West Virginia is hilly. Neely was famous for his candor, which, at times, could be crude and off-putting. His verbosity sometimes got him into trouble, even before the age of political correctness.
Neely got into hot water when, while serving as chief justice, he fired his secretary for refusing to babysit his son and perform other personal chores. “By tradition, your personal staff is your personal staff,” Neely said. “I have the staff to do the chicken crap, while I grind out the work.”
Neely relinquished his position as chief justice but kept his seat on the court.
Once he said at a conference that society would be better off if women stayed home with their children, a comment that caused current Justice Margaret Workman to say someone “should drag him (Neely) kicking and screaming into the 20th century.”
Every now and then, Neely would call me to pitch an appearance on Talkline. When I got on the phone with Richard, I knew the conversation would be long — mostly with me listening — and entertaining.
He had a considerable ego, but that was balanced by his self-deprecating humor. Once when advertising for a law clerk he described himself as “America’s laziest and dumbest judge” who was looking for “a bright person to keep (the judge) from looking stupid.”
Danny Jones, the former mayor of Charleston and long-time friend, described Neely as “the most loyal person I ever met in my whole life. He was a wonderful person and spoke the truth as he knew it.”
Mike Callaghan, Neely’s law partner said, “I think his long-lasting legacy will be, people will say, he’s probably one of the smartest individuals to ever be in West Virginia and dedicated those skills to improve our state.”
The practice of law can be dry, and the judiciary is characterized by solemnity. In Neely’s practice of law, he combined his towering intellect with an acerbic wit. Occasionally that got him into trouble, but more often he was provocative and ground-breaking.
Hoppy Kercheval is a MetroNews anchor and the longtime host of “Talkline.” Contact him at hoppy.kercheval@wvradio.com.
