The State Journal, March 25, 2004
State Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher disrupted a meet-the-candidates event last week in Charleston, shouting from the audience at Judge James J. Rowe, a Greenbrier County Democrat who is running against incumbent Justice Warren McGraw. Rowe was reading from the court record in an attempt to make a point. And then came Starcher's outburst.
This is judicial decorum? This is collegiality?
The race for a seat on the Supreme Court comes down to those who believe the court should be activist and push an agenda and those who believe it should interpret the law. Starcher's outburst could be evidence of his passion to reshape West Virginia through judicial fiat. More than that, it shows the court is hardly a bastion of stability.