William R. Wooton

William R. Wooton (born September 20, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia since January 1, 2021.

William R. Wooton
Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byMargaret Workman
Member of the West Virginia Senate
from the 9th district
In office
December 1, 1990 – December 1, 2002
Preceded byTracy Hylton
Succeeded byRuss Weeks
Majority Leader of the West Virginia House of Delegates
In office
1985–1986
Member of the
West Virginia House of Delegates
from the 27th District
In office
December 2008 – December 2010
In office
December 1988 – December 1990
In office
December 1976 – December 1986
Personal details
Born (1944-09-20) September 20, 1944
Beckley, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseShir
Children3
EducationMarshall University (BA)
West Virginia University (JD)

Education

Wooton received his Bachelor of Arts in business management from Marshall University and his Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was editor-in-Chief of the West Virginia Law Review, Order of the Coif, and graduated at the top of his class.[1]

Political career

House of Delegates

Wooton was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 27 from 1978 to 1986, 1988 to 1990, and 2008 to 2010. He served as House Majority Leader from 1985 to 1986.[2]

Senate

Wooton served in the West Virginia Senate from 1991 through 2002 and also served as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.[1] Wooton was also an unsuccessful candidate to return to the Senate in 2018.

Wooton was a law clerk for the Honorable John A. Field, Jr., Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1971 to 1972; an assistant West Virginia Attorney General from 1972 to 74; and an Assistant Raleigh County Prosecutor from 1974 to 1977. He practiced law in Beckley with the firm Wooton, Wooton & Fragile from 1977 until 1994; with The Wooton Law Firm from 1994 until 2014; and with Wooton & Wooton, Attorneys at Law, from 2014 through 2020.[2]

Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Wooton was elected to a 12 year term in a nonpartisan election to the Supreme Court of Appeals on June 9, 2020, and began his term on January 1, 2021.[3] He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Court in 2016, losing to future colleague Beth Walker.[4]

Supreme Court of Appeals, Division II 2020 Election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bill Wooton 115,668 31.0%
Nonpartisan Joanna Tabit 108,952 29.2%
Nonpartisan Kris Raynes 74,334 19.9%
Nonpartisan Jim Douglas 73,843 19.8%
Total votes 372,797 100.0%

Personal life

Wooton served in the West Virginia Army National Guard and the United States Army Reserve, reaching the rank of colonel.[3][5]

He is married to his wife, Shir, and they have three adult sons and five grandchildren.[2]

References
  1. EDITOR, Matt Harvey MANAGING (13 July 2020). "WV Supreme Court Justice-Elect Wooton: 'His career is very varied, and he brings a lot of experience and competency to the court'". WV News. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  2. "Justice William R. Wooton - Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia". www.courtswv.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  3. "William Wooton". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  4. McCormick, Liz (May 6, 2016). "Former State Legislator & Longtime Attorney, Wooton Runs for W.Va. Supreme Court". West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
  5. Taylor, Jack (November 3, 2021). "From the frontlines to the Capitol, the story of Bill Wooton". WVNS-TV.
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