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Constitution Of West Virginia
The Constitution of the State of West Virginia West Virginia State Constitution is the supreme law of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It expresses the rights of the state's citizens and provides the framework for the organization of law and government. West Virginia is governed under its second and current constitution, which dates from 1872. The document includes fourteen articles and several amendments. History The first constitution for the state was written in 1861. Following the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War, Unionist politicians established a " Restored Government" to assert their loyalty to the U.S. In November of that year, delegates from the state's westernmost counties met in convention at Wheeling to form a new state, dubbed West Virginia, and wrote a constitution for that state. In the midst of the war, slavery proved to be one of the main issues at the convention, but delegates sidestepped the question of emancipation and merely prohibited ens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seal Of West Virginia
The Great Seal of the State of West Virginia was adopted in September 1863. The obverse center of the seal contains a boulder that has been inscribed June 20, 1863, the date West Virginia became a state. In front of the boulder lie two crossed rifles and a Phrygian cap#In the United States, liberty cap as a symbol of the state's fight for liberty. The two men on either side of the boulder represent agriculture and Industrial sector, industry. On the left stands a farmer with an Axe, ax and plow before a maize, cornstalk. On the other side stands a miner with a pickax, and behind him an anvil and sledge hammer. The outer ring contains the text "State of West Virginia" and the state's motto "Montani Semper Liberi", ("Mountaineers are Always Free"; the state nickname is "the Mountain State"). The reverse of the seal, also called the lesser seal, is the official seal of the List of Governors of West Virginia, Governor. Its motto reads "Libertas E Fidelitate" ("Liberty out of Fidelity") ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia V
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most-populous city, and Fairfax County is the most-populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's population was over 8.65million, with 36% of them living in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World. Virginia's state nickname, the Old Dominion, is a reference to this status. Slave labor and land acquired from displaced native tribes fueled the growing p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Circuit Courts
The West Virginia Circuit Courts are the West Virginia state trial courts of general jurisdiction. They are the only state trial courts in West Virginia that are courts of record. West Virginia's 55 counties are divided into 31 circuits, each comprising anywhere from one to four counties. Different circuits have different numbers of judges; 11 circuits have only a single judge. Effective with the 2024 election, the circuits will be realigned into 30 circuits, with only one having a single judge.https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2023_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb3332%20sub%20enr.pdf Circuit judges were formerly elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms. In 2015, the Legislature changed the law to provide that future elections will be on a non-partisan basis. Judges must have engaged in the practice of law for at least five years. When a vacancy occurs, the governor of West Virginia appoints a judge, who must run in the next election to retain his or her seat. Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supreme Court Of Appeals Of West Virginia
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 to 1915, it was also required by state law to hold sessions in Charles Town in the state's Eastern Panhandle. The court also holds special sittings at various locations across the state. Although the West Virginia Constitution allowed for an intermediate court of appeals to be created, since 1974 the Legislature declined to do so, until 2021 and thus the Supreme Court provided the only review of the decisions of the state's trial courts of general jurisdiction, the West Virginia Circuit Courts. In December 2010, the Supreme Court promulgated a major revision of West Virginia's rules of appellate procedure, by which it provided that it would hear all properly perfected appeals of right from the circuit courts. Beginning July 1, 2022 a new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuity Of Government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war. COG was developed by the British government before and during World War II to counter threats, such as that of the ''Luftwaffe'' bombing during the Battle of Britain. The need for continuity of government plans gained new urgency with nuclear proliferation. During and after the Cold War countries developed such plans to avoid (or minimize) confusion and disorder due to a power vacuum in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. In the US, COG is no longer limited to nuclear emergencies; the Continuity of Operations Plan was activated following the September 11 attacks. By country Canada Canada built numerous nuclear bunkers across the country, nicknamed " Diefenbunkers" in a play on the last name of then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. In 2016, the Privy Council Office made an agreement ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Lottery
The West Virginia Lottery is run by the government of West Virginia. It was established in 1984 via a voter referendum. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The Lottery offers games such as Lotto America, Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch tickets. West Virginia has reinterpreted the amendment to its Constitution that permitted its lottery to include casinos, and thus the West Virginia Lottery Commission also regulates slot machines, which are marketed as "video lottery" and available at several hundred businesses; and five "lottery table games" casinos. Jack Whittaker, arguably the most notable American lottery winner, won his then-record Powerball jackpot of about $315 million (annuity value) on a ticket bought in West Virginia for the December 25, 2002 drawing. The minimum age to buy West Virginia Lottery tickets is 18, while casinos and slot machine parlors require patrons to be at least 21. The lottery has the lowest payoff of any stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. It is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its county seat is Charles Town. The county was founded in 1801, and today is part of the Washington metropolitan area. History Formation Jefferson County was established oOctober 26, 1801from Berkeley County because the citizens of southeastern Berkeley County felt they had to travel too far to the county seat of Martinsburg. Charles Washington, the founder of Charles Town and brother to George Washington petitioned for a new county to be formed. It was named for Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States. Virginia previously had a Jefferson County, which is now part of Kentucky. Accordingly, in the State records of Virginia, there are listings for Jefferson County from 1780 to 1792 and Jefferson County from 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown- Martinsburg, MD- WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 122,076, making it the second-most populous of West Virginia's 55 counties, behind Kanawha County. The City of Martinsburg is the county seat. History Created on May 15, 1772 by an act of House of Burgesses from the northern third of Frederick County when it was part of Virginia, Berkeley County became West Virginia's second-oldest county after it separated from Virginia in 1863, during the Civil War. At the time of the county's formation, Berkeley County comprised areas that now are part of present-day Jefferson and Morgan counties in West Virginia. Most historians believe the county was named for Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1718–1770), Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. West Virginia's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Legislature
The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's split from Virginia during the American Civil War in 1863. As with its neighbor and former constituent Virginia General Assembly, the legislature's lower house is also referred to as a "House of Delegates." The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Charleston. Terms Senators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years. These terms are staggered, meaning that not all 34 State Senate seats are up every election: some are elected in presidential election years and some are up during midterm elections. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia State Capitol Building
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text is: The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both religious abuse of government and political control of religion. Under it the federal government of the United States as well as the governments of all U.S. states and U.S. territories are prohibited from establishing or sponsoring religion. The clause was based on a number of precedents, including the Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey colonial constitutions. An initial draft by John Dickinson was prepared in conjunction with his drafting the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, then-congressman James Madison prepared another draft which, following discussion and debate in the First Congress, would become part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalty Oath
A loyalty oath is a pledge of allegiance to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member. In the United States, such an oath has often indicated that the affiant has not been a member of a particular organization or organizations mentioned in the oath. In the United States Civil War and Reconstruction During the American Civil War, political prisoners and Confederate prisoners of war were often released upon taking an "oath of allegiance". Lincoln's ten percent plan featured an oath to "faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder" as a condition for a Presidential pardon. During Reconstruction, retroactive loyalty oaths were proposed by Radical Republicans, which would have barred former Confederates and Confederate sympathizers from federal, state, or local offices. Beginning in 1862 all U.S. Naval shipyard employees were required to sign a loyalty oath as a condition o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
