Speaker Thompson, House of Delegates obstruct legal reform efforts
March 16, 2011
A legislative session that began with optimism and promise ended with a thud as House Speaker Rick Thompson refused to allow debate in the House of Delegates on legislation creating an intermediate court of appeals for our sate.
At the forefront of this session’s legal reform debate was Senate Bill 307, creating an intermediate court of appeals for West Virginia. West Virginia is one of only ten states without an intermediate appeals court, and such a court has been recommended by two bi-partisan judicial reform commissions over the past decade — most recently Governor Manchin’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform and the Supreme Court’s own Commission on the Future of the West Virginia Judiciary before that.
An appeals court and automatic right of appeal were the most significant recommendations of Governor Joe Manchin’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform.
And unlike years past, appeals court legislation looked promising in 2011. It passed the state Senate with bi-partisan support, and was supported by the acting Governor. But it died, as is often the case, in the decidedly anti-reform House of Delegates.
The failure of appeals court legislation serves as an unfriendly reminder that personal injury lawyers — who were the most vocal opponent of appeals court legislation during the session — still control the House of Delegates with an iron fist.
House Speaker Rick Thompson, who works as a personal injury lawyer, received more than $100,000 in campaign contribution from personal injury lawyer interests just last year. And video footage shows the head of the personal injury bar supporting Speaker Thompson at a political fundraiser just weeks before the House of Delegates killed the important appeals court legislation.
Personal injury bar President Mike Romano supports Speaker Rick Thompson at a political fundraiser
With a majority of West Virginians supporting the creation of an intermediate appeals court and guaranteed right of appeal, it was certainly disappointing to see reform efforts dashed in the obstructionist House of Delegates. Senators Jeff Kessler, Corey Palumbo and many others in the state Senate deserve praise for their leadership on this important reform measure. As does acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin for his efforts to pressure the House of Delegates into action.
Other legal reform measures introduced during the 2011 legislative session faced similar opposition.
Senators Mike Hall and Clark Barnes introduced Senate Bill 578 — which would have kept junk science out of West Virginia courtrooms through the use of common-sense standards for expert evidence. Unfortunately, state lawmakers didn’t even bother to debate the worth-while reform measure.
And Senate Republicans introduced several legal reform bills that would have helped grow our job base and stimulate our economy. But those bills were also opposed by a majority of state lawmakers
In the coming year, WV CALA will continue to push for a meaningful right of appeal and other much-needed reforms, but the likelihood of success will be difficult so long as personal injury lawyer interests control the agenda in the House of Delegates.
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