George M. Scott (August 5, 1929 – November 10, 2015) was a justice of the

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 ...

. In November 1999, he was appointed by Republican Governor

Cecil H. Underwood Cecil Harland Underwood (November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008) was an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career. He was the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, and fro ...

to the Supreme Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Justice Margaret Workman.

Early life and education

Scott graduated from Walton High School in 1945. He served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

from 1946 to 1949, attaining the rank of sergeant. Scott attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

and

West Virginia University College of Law The West Virginia University College of Law is the professional school for the study of law at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The law school was established in 1878 as the first professional school in the s ...

, graduating with honors and serving as editor of the

West Virginia Law Review The ''West Virginia Law Review'' is a triannual student-run law review published by the West Virginia University College of Law. It was established in 1894 and is the fourth oldest law review in the United States. History The journal underwent s ...

Legal career

After law school, Scott was a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Ben Moore for one year. Thereafter, he practiced law in the Spencer firm of Ryan & Scott. Scott served as Roane County Prosecuting Attorney from 1956 to 1964. Scott also held various offices in the West Virginia State Bar, including President-elect in 1972, when he was appointed as a circuit court judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit. He was elected judge three times before retiring in 1987. Then-Governor Cecil Underwood appointed him to the West Virginia Supreme Court on November 4, 1999. He served until December 31, 2000, after which he returned to practicing law in Spencer and was of counsel to the Charleston law firm of Carey, Scott and Douglas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, George M. 1929 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia Military personnel from West Virginia People from Roane County, West Virginia United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni