Column: Steve Roberts

McGraw a unique threat to W.Va.


Charleston Daily Mail, April 22, 2004

Much rhetoric and misinformation is being spewed these days regarding the Democratic primary election race for state Supreme Court. In that race, Greenbrier County Circuit Judge Jim Rowe, is seeking the nomination against incumbent Justice Warren McGraw.  It is unfortunate that the electorate is being subjected to the kind of verbal attacks and assaults being waged by the McGraw campaign. Just this week, Andy Gallagher, the spokesperson for the McGraw campaign, used the Charleston Daily Mail to attack the paper’s political editor through name-calling, personal insults and condescending statements.

Why is it that the McGraw campaign must resort to these tactics? Why isn’t the McGraw campaign more interested in addressing the serious issues that concern West Virginia voters? Why all the misinformation about the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, whose membership is made up of 95 percent small businesses?

Inadvertently, Gallagher helps us make our case by clearly indicating the problem with the current “activist” McGraw-majority court. Justice McGraw and his “partners” have taken a course in which our high court now practices “court-made” law, particularly for political or “so-called” personal reasons.

Let’s review a few of these:

• Justice McGraw is the only justice to vote for taking an appeal to overturn the new law that helped to resolve the state’s recent medical malpractice crisis. The governor and the Legislature, in a bipartisan manner, made important changes to help keep our doctors from fleeing West Virginia . Even as recently as last week, the McGraw campaign continued to assert that there wasn’t and still isn’t a medical crisis in our state. Is it a coincidence that McGraw’s views on this situation are the same as the trial attorneys, who lobbied vehemently against the medical malpractice solution?
• Justice McGraw wrote a landmark decision in 1999 that establishes a “no proof, no problem” situation in West Virginia . This decision basically bypasses the Legislature in creating new law for people to file frivolous lawsuits alleging they may have an injury in the future, but based on no proof. Profiting from this are trial attorneys such as Justice McGraw’s son, who is filing these types of lawsuits.  
• In thousands and thousands of Workers’ Comp appeals to come before the Supreme Court, Justice McGraw has voted time and time again to side against employers with claimants — nearly 90 percent of the time. I doubt there is any other greater example in this country of such judicial one-sidedness and lack of balance. And who benefits from these appeals? Over the years claimant lawyers have been paid millions and millions of dollars from these suits.

This election is about the current anti-jobs judicial climate and anti-growth economic direction of our great state.  It should not be about trying to hang on to a political dynasty that has outlived its day. It is not about appeasing the trial attorneys who are profiting so grossly from the state’s lawsuit-friendly environment. A small cabal of trial attorneys is feeding off a rich gravy train, and they are spending big dollars in an effort to keep things this way.

The unfortunate victims in McGraw’s political viewpoints are the working people of West Virginia who continue to see their jobs eliminated, their incomes destroyed, and their children move away. The blame for the state’s dismal economic situation rests with our judicial climate and how it is destroying any hope for future prosperity and job creation.

Let’s stick to the tough issue facing us and tone down the name-calling and personal attacks. West Virginia deserves better. Justice McGraw should address the issues.