John A. Hutchison (born 1950) is an American lawyer serving as 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 t ...

. He joined the court in 2018 and served as chief justice in 2022.

Education

Hutchison received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in history and political science from

Davis & Elkins College Davis & Elkins College (D&E) is a private college in Elkins, West Virginia. History The school was founded in 1904 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. It was named for Henry G. Davis and his son-in-law Stephen B. Elkins, who were b ...

in 1972. He graduated with his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

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 ...

in 1980.

Career

Hutchison practiced law in Raleigh County for 10 years with Gorman, Sheatsley and Hutchison. In 1991, he opened the Nationwide Insurance West Virginia Trial Division Office and served as its managing trial attorney for four years.

Judicial service

Hutchison was appointed to the bench in the Tenth Judicial Circuit (Raleigh County) by then-Governor

Gaston Caperton William Gaston Caperton III (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of West Virginia, 31st Governor of West Virginia from 1989 to 1997. He was president of the College Board, which administers the na ...

in 1995, and he was elected to that seat in 1996 and re-elected in 2000, 2008 and 2016.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

After the resignation of Justice

Allen Loughry Allen Hayes Loughry, II (born August 9, 1970) is a former justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Loughry was arrested by the FBI in 2018 after being indicted by a grand jury. In October 2018, he was convicted on 11 federal offe ...

, Hutchison was one of fifteen people interviewed by the West Virginia Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission for the vacancy. He was appointed by Governor

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice had a net worth of $1.2 billion in September 2018, making him the wealthiest person ...

on December 12, 2018. Justice appointed Hutchison despite their different party registration. Hutchison had previously been elected as a Democrat through several partisan judicial elections. Nevertheless, the Republican Justice called Hutchison "one of the most conservative, respected jurists in the state of West Virginia" upon his appointment. Then-Republican Party Chair Melody Potter celebrated the appointment while Belinda Biafore, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, accused Justice of playing politics with the appointment. In June 2020, Hutchison faced his first election to serve the remainder of former Justice Allen Loughry's term. Hutchison beat Lora Dyer, a circuit court judge on the Fifth

West Virginia Circuit Court 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 comp ...

and attorney William Schwartz. Hutchison became chief justice in 2022.

Personal

He is married to Victoria Lagowski Hutchison and they have two children and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Official Biography on the West Virginia Judiciary website
* , - 1950 births 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Davis & Elkins College alumni Living people Lawyers from Beckley, West Virginia West Virginia Democrats West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia University College of Law alumni {{US-state-judge-stub