by Eric Hayhurst
Once again, many West Virginia legislators want to create an intermediate court of appeals in the state. West Virginia simply does not need an intermediate court of appeals. Such a court would be a waste of taxpayer money, entirely unnecessary and would benefit only big-money corporate special interests.
An intermediate court of appeals would be a significant waste of taxpayer dollars in a state that already has extremely limited resources. According to an estimate from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, an intermediate court would cost state taxpayers more than $7 million per year in direct costs. That does not include the additional indirect costs the state government would incur in litigating before such a court through its various departments, including the Office of the Attorney General, State Tax Department, Department of Health and Human Resources the DEP and others.
This Legislature also wants to eliminate or significantly reduce the personal income tax in West Virginia. Such a move would necessarily require severe budget cuts in many areas of the state budget, including the PROMISE Scholarship, education, Medicaid and others. To add millions to the budget by creating an intermediate court of appeals would make it even harder to provide needed tax breaks to West Virginia citizens.
One argument made for creating an intermediate court is that it will create an automatic right of appeal for all cases — but that automatic right of appeal already exists in West Virginia. Every case that is appealed from the circuit court level is reviewed on the merits by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
After review, either a memorandum or published opinion is released by the Supreme Court. That process was instituted several years ago in response to questions regarding rights of appeal in West Virginia. That led to the National Center for State Courts affirming that an automatic right of appeal exists in West Virginia.
Additionally, creating an intermediate court expands the judicial branch of government unnecessarily. Total appeals in West Virginia have declined nearly 70% in the last two decades, a rate four times the national average. West Virginia is a small state that should have a small government — an intermediate court would add to the size of our government, creating a significant waste of resources.
Take North Dakota, for example, where an intermediate court was instituted in 1987. That court has heard a total of just 37 cases in its 33 years of existence, and it has not heard a single appeal since 2007. West Virginia should take heed from North Dakota and pass on an intermediate court of appeals.
Finally, an intermediate court would only benefit out-of-state, billion-dollar special interests. They will use the court to delay cases, allowing them to pad their bottom lines and limit accountability at West Virginians’ expense.
So, why are West Virginia lawmakers pushing to create an intermediate court? Because multinational special interest groups worth billions of dollars want it. The new court would create a new layer of litigation for injured and wronged West Virginians. It will force families to wait months or years to be justly compensated. Even worse, the at-fault corporations and Big Insurance will use the threat of delay to strong-arm West Virginians into accepting just a fraction of what is owed, cheating residents and increasing their profits at your expense.
Don’t allow big-money special interests to take over West Virginia’s justice system and force an intermediate court on state taxpayers. Tell West Virginia legislators to reject SB 275.
Eric Hayhurst is a personal injury lawyer in Morgantown.
