Elliott E. "Spike" Maynard (December 8, 1942 – May 1, 2014) was an American lawyer and former judge from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. In 1996 he was elected as a Democrat to 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 ...

. A judge of West Virginia's 30th Judicial Circuit for over 16 years, he was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to a 12-year term on the

in 1996. In 2010, Maynard

switched parties Switched may refer to: * Switched (band) Switched (previously depicted as Sw1tched) was a nu metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. History Forming in 1999 as Sw1tch, the band played shows around Ohio and released a demo entitled ''Fuckin' Demo''. T ...

and won the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination to challenge longtime Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Nick Rahall Nicholas Joseph Rahall II (born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States Hous ...

West Virginia's 3rd congressional district West Virginia's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in southern West Virginia. The district covers the state's second-largest city, Huntington; includes Bluefield, Princeton, and Beckley; and has a long history of coa ...

. On November 2, 2010, Maynard was defeated in his election bid in the second-closest election in Rahall's political history.

Early life, education, and legal career

Maynard served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Reconnaissance Group from 1961 to 1966. He received his Bachelor of Science from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

in 1967. He served as the managing director of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce from 1968 to 1970. Maynard attended 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 ...

and received his J.D. in 1974. Maynard was an attorney in

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

from 1974 and 1981, and also served as the

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for

Mingo County Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic Iroq ...

from 1976 to 1981.

Judicial career

Maynard was appointed a judge of the 30th Judicial Circuit in 1981. He was elected in 1981 and subsequently reelected. He served on the court until 1997. In 1996, he was elected to a 12-year term as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Maynard served as an associate justice until 2000, when he became the Chief Justice for a one-year term. In 2001 Maynard returned to associate justice status. The five justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia rotate, with limited exceptions, the role of Chief Justice on a one-year term basis.

Massey Energy controversy

In November 2007, Maynard voted with the majority in a 3–2 decision to reverse a $76 million judgment against Massey Energy. The judgment ($55 million plus

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct ...

) had been awarded by a Boone County jury to Harman Mining, a West Virginia

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

company owned by Hugh M. Caperton. After the Supreme Court reversed the judgment, Caperton's attorneys learned that Maynard had vacationed in the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

with

Don Blankenship Donald Leon Blankenship (born March 14, 1950) is an American business executive and political candidate. He was chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company (by 2008 production) in the United States—from 2000 u ...

, the CEO, chairman, and president of Massey Energy, and photos of the trip emerged. Bruce Stanley, a Pittsburgh lawyer representing Caperton, said "It is beyond the realm of human comprehension that any judge could claim any semblance of impartiality when, before casting the deciding vote in a $76 million case, he accompanies the CEO of the litigant on a luxurious trip to the French Riviera." On January 19, 2008, following intense public scrutiny, Maynard disqualified himself from the Massey appeal. The acting chief justice appointed Circuit Judge Don Cookman to sit on the court for Caperton's rehearing petition. On January 23, 2008, the Court voted 5–0 to rehear Caperton's appeal.

Political campaigns

2008 judicial campaign

Maynard's 12-year term expired in 2009. Maynard ran for re-election and was initially the strong favorite. However, in the May 13, 2008

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

for two seats on the court, Maynard was defeated, coming in third behind former Supreme Court Justice

Margaret Workman Margaret Lee Workman (born May 22, 1947) is an American lawyer and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Her 1988 election to the Supreme Court made her the first woman elected to statewide office in West Virginia and ...

and Huntington trial lawyer

Menis Ketchum Menis E. Ketchum II (born January 31, 1943, in Wayne County, West Virginia) is an American politician and jurist who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He was elected as a Democrat to a twelve-year term on the C ...

. Maynard barely edged out a political novice and West Virginia University law professor Bob Bastress.

2010 U.S. Congressional campaign

After switching his party affiliation to Republican, Maynard officially filed candidacy papers on February 1, 2010, to run for the U.S. House in the 3rd District of West Virginia. He won the party primary with 30.1% of the vote against three other candidates. Maynard has said that his campaign "is about protecting the coal industry, including all the jobs associated with it." Rahall defeated Maynard in the November general election.

Death

Maynard died at Charleston Area Medical Center in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

on May 1, 2014, following complications from pneumonia.'Former Justice, Elliott Maynard dies,' Huntington Herald-Dispatch (West Virginia), May 2, 2014

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Motion Ties W. Virginia Justice to Coal Executive
Adam Liptak, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', January 15, 2008
Supreme Court to rehear Massey-Caperton case
''

Charleston Gazette The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the ''Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'', January 24, 2008
Maynard wants to stop Washington’s ‘War on Coal’
Ken Ward Jr.,''

'', February 1, 2010
Reminder: Spike Maynard on the Aracoma Mine fire
Ken Ward Jr.,''

'', February 2, 2010
Justice for sale
William Kistner, '' American Radio Works'' ;Opinions
Caperton v. Massey, Majority Opinion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maynard, Spike 1942 births 2014 deaths Military personnel from West Virginia County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia People from Williamson, West Virginia Florida Southern College alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia lawyers West Virginia Republicans United States Air Force airmen Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers