Twelfth Family Court Circuit (McDowell and Mercer Counties) Judge Anthony Bisaha was born and raised in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. He has a 1982 bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a 1992 law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich.

He started practicing law in 1993 in Mercer County and had been practicing family law for 15 years when then-Governor Joe Manchin III appointed him to the bench in 2008. He was elected to the seat in 2010 and re-elected in 2016 and 2024. Judge Bisaha is the substitute judge for the Twelfth Circuit Juvenile Drug Court.

He was a middle school baseball coach, Concord University Adjunct Professor, and a Knights of Columbus member.

Judge Bisaha and his wife, Debra, have been married since 1987 and have three sons.
 

Judge Joyce Helmick Carpenter is a native of Gilmer County. She has a 1977 bachelor’s degree in history from Glenville State College and a 1980 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

She was elected to the bench in the Twenty-Seventh Family Court Circuit (Pocahontas and Webster Counties) in 2016 and was re-elected in 2024.

She previously was an attorney in private practice with Ernest V. “Jack” Morton from 1980 to 1989 and, thereafter, worked at VanNostrand & Morton, PLLC, from 1990 to 2012. Judge Carpenter served as general counsel for Milan Puskar Trust from 2011 to 2012 and had a solo practice from 2013 until she took the bench.

Before her election, Judge Carpenter was active in the West Virginia State Bar, including terms on the Board of Governors and several State Bar committees. She served on the Lawyer Disciplinary Board and was vice-chair of the board for one year. She served on the West Virginia Law Institute and was a 2005 Bar Foundation Fellow. Judge Carpenter served as a board member for the West Virginia Bar Foundation of Fellows for two terms and is currently serving as a board member for The West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program.

She lives in Webster Springs with her husband, Michael Ray Carpenter. They have seven children and 16 grandchildren. Judge Carpenter’s daughter, Jasmine R. H. Morton, was elected in May 2024 as a circuit judge for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, and Webster Counties).

Judge Lisa Clark was elected to the bench in the Twelfth Family Court Circuit (McDowell and Mercer Counties) in 2008 and re-elected in 2016 and 2024. She served as the McDowell County Juvenile Drug Court Judge (2012-2018) and the West Virginia Family Court Association Secretary (2011-2022).  

Judge Clark was born and raised in Raleigh County. She has a 1987 bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a 1990 law degree from the Claude W. Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University.

Before taking the bench, Judge Clark practiced law at Stone, McGhee, Feuchtenberger and Barringer (1990-1995); the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (1995-1999); and Gibson, Lefler & Associates (1999-2008).

She is the Black Diamond Hokie Club president, a member of the Rotary Club of Peterstown, and assistant governor for Rotary District 7545. She is a former member of the Boards of Directors of the Bluefield Salvation Army and the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund. She is a former member of the Governor’s Access to Justice Committee and a former McDowell County Law Day Honoree.

Judge Peter Conley was raised in Bridgeport. He has a 1980 bachelor’s degree in law enforcement from Marshall University and a 1984 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

He was elected to the bench in the Eighteenth Family Court Circuit (Doddridge and Harrison Counties) in May 2016 to a term beginning January 1, 2017.

He previously was an attorney with the Siegrist & White law firm for more than 30 years and was a frequent volunteer with Legal Aid of West Virginia. He also was a member of the Harrison County Board of Education from 1990 to 1998 and served as president of the board for four of those years. He served as co-counsel for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Court Improvement Program.

Judge Conley is active in his church, Simpson Creek Baptist Church, and since 1993 has been a volunteer reader at Johnson Elementary School. He helped develop the James and Derick Hotsinpiller Memorial Scholarship Fund, Inc., for college students studying law enforcement. He is a past president of the Clarksburg Lion’s Club, the Harrison County Bar Association, and of the Board of Directors of the Harrison County Sheltered Workshop.

He and his wife, Cindy live in Bridgeport. They have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.

Judge Bryan Cromley is a native of Point Pleasant. He has a 2006 bachelor’s degree in economics from West Virginia University and a 2009 law degree from Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

He began his career as a law clerk for Fifth Judicial Circuit (Calhoun, Jackson, Mason, and Roane Counties) David W. Nibert. He subsequently opened his own practice and worked as a Jackson County assistant prosecuting attorney.

Judge Cromley was elected to the Fifth Family Court Circuit (Jackson, Mason, and Wirt Counties) in 2016. When his predecessor resigned, then-Governor Earl Ray Tomblin appointed him on August 15, 2016, to serve the remainder of her term before starting his own eight-year term. He was re-elected in 2024.

Judge J. Jeffrey Culpepper was born in St. Louis, Missouri; grew up in Maryland; and came to Morgantown to attend college, where he has remained. He has a 1989 bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University and a 1993 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

Prior to college, "Jeff" was a communications computer operator for a U.S.D.O.E. contractor in Maryland. During college, Judge Culpepper was a social worker at Monongalia County Youth Services Center. During law school, he was a law clerk for Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Monongalia County) Judge Robert B. Stone. Once out of law school, while building his practice, Judge Culpepper was a legal instructor at West Virginia Junior College.

In 1997, then-Governor Cecil Underwood appointed him to be a family law master for Preston and Monongalia Counties. When the family court system was established in 2001, then-Governor Bob Wise appointed him to the bench in the Twentieth Family Court Circuit (Monongalia County). He was elected in 2002, left office in 2009, and was elected again to that position in 2024.

From 2009 to 2024, he practiced law in Morgantown with the firm Sal, Sellaro, Culpepper Legal Group PLLC and served as a temporary family court judge, accepting assignments around the state from the chief justice as needed.

Judge Culpepper and his wife, Susan, have two children and one grandchild. 

Judge Sarah Dixon was appointed to the bench in the Sixth Family Court Circuit (Cabell County) and took office on July 10, 2024, to a term that ended December 31, 2024. Judge Dixon was elected to an eight-year term on the same seat on May 14, 2024, and that term began on January 1, 2025.

Judge Dixon was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. She graduated magna cum laude from Miami University of Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in American literature. She obtained her law degree at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

Before taking office, Judge Dixon’s legal career primarily focused on family law. She opened her own law office in January 2013. In November of 2014, she began working as a Cabell County assistant prosecuting attorney, focusing on child abuse and neglect cases. She later returned to private practice and consistently represented children in circuit and family court as well as adults in divorce, custody, domestic violence, guardianship, and grandparents’ rights cases in West Virginia family courts. Judge Dixon was the adoption lawyer for hundreds of families.

Judge Dixon is the granddaughter of the late Cabell County Magistrate Betty Wolford and the daughter of business owners and employers, Shawn and Cary Dixon of Huntington, West Virginia.

Judge Jim Douglas was born in Sutton and raised in Charleston; Ohio; and Ivydale, Clay County. He has a 1973 bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston); a 1975 master’s degree from West Virginia University in German history and literature and a 1977 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law, where he served as president of the Student Bar Association.

He was elected to the bench in the Eleventh Family Court Circuit (Kanawha County) in 2016 and was re-elected in 2024.

Judge Douglas was a solo practitioner from 1977 until his election, specializing in divorce and family law. He also served as the Braxton County prosecuting attorney from 1985 to 1988.

The Braxton County native was/is a member of the American Bar Association Family Law Section and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He also was a faculty member for the Lawyer Education Institute, which formerly met annually in Colorado. Judge Douglas is a (judicial inactive) member of the Colorado Bar.

Judge Douglas has lived in Charleston since 2004. His hobbies include skiing (#1!), scuba diving, boating, walking his dog (Aspen) and the New England Patriots.

He is divorced and has three children, one of whom is an ENT, M.D., in Lewisburg; one is an assistant U.S. attorney in Wheeling and one is a paralegal. Judge Douglas lives with his Significant Other of the last 11 years, who is a retired principal and State Reading Specialist. 
 

Judge Grady Ford was elected to the Fifteenth Family Court Circuit (Greenbrier and Monroe Counties) in May 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025.

Judge Ford was born and raised in the Greenbrier Valley and graduated from Greenbrier East High School in 2002. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with minors in political science and philosophy, from West Virginia University in 2006. He received a law degree in 2009 from West Virginia University College of Law, where he was an editor of the West Virginia Law Review, Order of the Coif, and graduated at the top of his class.

He spent the first six years of his career in Charleston, as a law clerk to U.S. Fourth Circuit Appeals Court Judge Robert King, practicing business law at Jackson Kelly PLLC, and working in the Charleston City Attorney’s Office. 
In 2015, he joined his father and grandfather at the Ford Law firm PLLC in Lewisburg. Before taking the bench in 2025, he divided his practice between domestic relations and family law, representing municipalities and political subdivisions, and criminal and civil litigation.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

He lives in Lewisburg with his wife and two children.

Judge Chris Glover was elected to the Twenty-Fourth Family Court Circuit (Berkeley and Jefferson Counties) in May 2024 and took office January 1, 2025.

Judge Glover earned two bachelor's degrees (both summa cum laude), a master's degree and law degree from West Virginia University. She earned a master's degree and completed her PhD work at Georgetown University.

She taught Spanish and French at the university and secondary level and was named Outstanding Georgetown University Professor by The Georgetown University Academy.

Judge Glover worked as the Managing Immigration Attorney for Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWVa) Migration and Refugee Services. She focused on serving vulnerable populations, including victims of crimes (child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and human trafficking), asylum seekers, and unaccompanied minors.

While in private practice at Glover Law Firm PLLC, she served as a guardian ad litem for children and a West Virginia Supreme Court-approved family mediator. She volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and a Rape and Domestic Violence Center counselor, providing direct supportive services and court advocacy to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Judge Glover served as president of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association (2023-2024), as a fellow of the Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center (2023-2024), and as a family lawyer with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

Judge Glover is admitted to practice in federal immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. She is also admitted to practice in Maryland.

Judge Glover coached varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball and officiated college basketball. She also serves as a basketball official through the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission. She is the only female basketball official in the Eastern Panhandle Basketball Officials Association.

She lives with her two German Shepherds, Caley and Casey, in Falling Waters, West Virginia. Caley and Casey work as bilingual comfort dogs for vulnerable individuals and children.

Judge Betty Gregory was elected to the Fourth Family Court Circuit (Calhoun, Gilmer, Ritchie, and Roane Counties) in May 2024 and took office on Jan. 1, 2025.

She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Virginia State University in 2006 and a law degree from Appalachian School of Law in 2000.

She was in private practice (2000-2011) and was an assistant prosecutor in Logan County (2009-2011) specializing in sexual assault cases. She was an assistant public defender in Calhoun and Roane Counties (2011-2014), had her own practice in central West Virginia (2013-2014), and was an assistant prosecutor in Jackson County (2014-2015), specializing in representing the state in child abuse and neglect cases. She also was an immigration attorney (2017-2024). After her election, she served as a circuit court law clerk in Lewis and Upshur counties until she took the bench.

She has four children and 10 grandchildren.

Meredith Haines was sworn in as a judge in the Twenty-Third Family Court Circuit (Hampshire, Mineral, and Morgan Counties) on January 19, 2024. 

Judge Haines previously was an attorney at Kuhn & Haines, L.C., in Keyser. She received an associate degree in political science from Potomac State College in 2001, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Frostburg State University in 2003, and a law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2006. 

 She is married to John Haines and has two children.

Judge Bobby Hale is a native of Madison. He has a 1970 bachelor’s degree in mathematics from West Virginia University Institute of Technology and a 1985 law degree, summa cum laude, from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta.

He was elected to the bench in the Tenth Family Court Circuit (Boone and Lincoln Counties) in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.

Before he was elected, he was concurrently a math teacher at Boone County Career and Technical Center (two years), a Boone County fiduciary commissioner (two years), and an attorney with Cook and Cook Attorneys in Madison (26 years). He previously worked for the Boone County Board of Education as a teacher of math, chemistry, physics, and building construction. He has also been an adjunct professor at Southern West Virginia Community College where he was an instructor of business math, business law, and real estate.

He was a member of the Boone County Board of Education from July 1, 1986, to Sept. 6, 2011, and he was president of the board for 14 years. He is the author of the book “Hale on Wills.”

Judge Hale enjoys carpentry and woodworking. He is a licensed residential building contractor, licensed electrician, and licensed plumber. 

He lives in Madison and has two sons, Eric and Todd, and two grandchildren.

Judge Lori Haynes is a native of St. Marys. She has a 1995 bachelor’s degree in communication and political science from Davis & Elkins College and a 2008 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

She was elected to the bench in the Twenty-Second Family Court Circuit (Randolph and Tucker Counties) in 2016 and was re-elected in 2024.

She previously was the Randolph County Assistant Prosecutor from 2012 until her election. Before that she worked at the Curnutte Law Office in Elkins from 2008 to 2012.

Judge Haynes lives in Elkins with her husband, Voras Haynes, Jr., and their three children.

Judge Jara Howard is a native of Cabell County. She has a 1991 bachelor’s degree from Marshall University and a 1994 law degree from Ohio Northern University College of Law.

She was elected to the Sixth Family Court Circuit (Cabell County) in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.

She previously worked as a child support enforcement attorney with the West Virginia Bureau of Child Support Enforcement from 1994 to 1997. From 1997 until she took the bench, she was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Cabell County.

She is a member of the GFWC Women's Club of Huntington and Huntington Southside Garden Club. She volunteers her free time fostering and caring for dogs with the local animal rescues and the Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter.

She and her son live in Huntington.

Judge Robert M. Ilderton received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from West Virginia State University in 1997 and a law degree from Capital University Law School in 2003.

He was sworn in as a judge in the Ninth Family Court Circuit (Logan County) on September 16, 2022, after being appointed by Governor Jim Justice to replace a judge who was appointed to the circuit bench in Logan County. Judge Ilderton was elected to an eight-year term in 2024.

Judge Ilderton is a lifelong resident of Logan County who had 19 years of legal experience at the time of his appointment.

After law school, he was a law clerk to former Seventh Judicial Circuit (Logan County) Judge Eric O’Briant. He then served as a Logan County assistant prosecuting attorney (2004-2009) and as a partner at the law firm of Abraham & Ilderton, PLLC (2009-2017). He maintained a private practice, Ilderton Law, PLLC, in Logan County from 2017 until his appointment to the bench.

He is married, has three children, and is a youth sports coach.  

Judge Lori Betler Jackson was born in Clarksburg and raised in Nutter Fort. She has a 1986 bachelor’s degree in business from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a 1995 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

She was elected to the bench in the Eighteenth Family Court Circuit (Doddridge and Harrison Counties) in 2008 and re-elected in 2016 and 2024. Prior to becoming a judge, she practiced family law for 11 years and was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Harrison and Marion Counties for five years.

Before going to law school, she worked as a certified public accountant.

Judge Jackson is active in her church and previously was a youth soccer coach, C-ball (coach-pitch) coach, and stage mom.  

She and her husband have two adult sons.

Family Court Judge Jonathan “Duke” Jewell was born in Washington, D.C., and was raised in Mingo County. He graduated from Williamson High School, earned his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, and obtained his law degree from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law.

He was elected to the bench in the Eighth Family Court Circuit (Mingo County) in May 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025.

He previously was elected Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020, serving from 2016 to 2024. Prior to his service as Prosecuting Attorney, he practiced law at Jewell Law Office, PLLC, in Williamson. In addition, he worked as an attorney in the Public Defender’s office in Mingo County.

Judge Jewell coaches little league and middle school sports and is a WVSSAC licensed referee.

He lives in Williamson with his wife, Christina, and their three children.

Judge Karen Hill Johnson spent her formative years in Belington, attended Barbour County schools, and graduated from Phillip Barbour High School in 1988. She has a 2001 bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing from Fairmont State College and a 2005 law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.

She was elected to the bench in the Twenty-First Family Court Circuit (Barbour and Taylor Counties) in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.  She took office in September 2016 after then-Governor Earl Ray Tomblin appointed her to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of her predecessor.

Before she took office, Judge Johnson’s legal career as a solo practitioner focused on representing the indigent and juveniles through circuit court appointments. The bulk of her law practice focused on serving as a guardian ad litem for children in family court and in child abuse and neglect proceedings in circuit court.

Judge Johnson and her husband, Jim, have one son and two grandchildren. 

Judge Patricia Keller was born and raised in Keyser. She has a 1980 bachelor’s degree in social welfare from Shepherd College (now University) and a 1983 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

Then-Gov. Bob Wise appointed her to the bench in the Sixth Family Court Circuit (Cabell County) in 2001. She was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2008, 2016, and 2024. She presides over domestic relations hearings, including divorce, child custody, visitation, domestic violence and support, as well as modification and contempt matters.

Judge Keller serves on the Family Court Education Committee, where she is involved in planning continuing education conferences for family court judges. She has also done presentations for circuit court judges, law clerks, and attorneys statewide. Judge Keller serves on the Judicial Investigation Commission, which reviews ethics complaints against judges and determines whether probable cause exists to formally charge a judge. Prior to that, she served on the Judicial Hearing Board.

In addition to her family court duties, Judge Keller was instrumental in implementing drug courts in Cabell County. In her work with the adult drug court, Judge Keller was one of three women featured in the Oscar-nominated Netflix short documentary Heroin(e), which shows the struggle of those who attempt to break the cycle of addiction one life at a time.

As an attorney, she argued several cases in front of the West Virginia Supreme Court. 

Judge Keller is an adjunct instructor at West Virginia University, where she has taught graduate classes in the Master of Legal Studies Program since 1999. She teaches both Law and Society and Family Law.

Leigh M. Lefler was sworn in as a judge in the Thirteenth Family Court Circuit (Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming Counties) on April 28, 2023. Governor Jim Justice appointed her to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Louise Goldston.

Judge Lefler has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Shepherd University and a law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law.

She has been practicing law since 2003. At the time of her appointment to the bench, she was a Raleigh County Assistant Prosecutor.

She previously served as guardian ad litem Band as a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia’s Advisory Committee for Family Treatment Courts. She participated in the Raleigh County Juvenile Drug Court, helped develop the Raleigh County Family Treatment Court, and was on the board of the Raleigh County Public Defender Office for many years.

She lives in Beckley and has served on the Beckley Performing Arts Board of Directors.

Family Court Judge Lyndsey W. Matschat graduated from Hedgesville High School, earned her undergraduate degree from Shepherd University (double majoring in accounting and economics), and obtained her law degree from The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law.

Governor Jim Justice appointed her to the bench in October 2022 to replace Family Court Judge Sally G. Jackson, who retired.

Judge Matschat served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for 11 years, focusing primarily on child abuse/neglect and adult/child sexual assault cases. She was a member of the Jefferson County Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Team, a statutorily mandated team of professionals that reviews all cases of sexual abuse and serious physical abuse involving children to improve outcomes. Judge Matschat also was a member of the Jefferson County Sexual Assault Response Team and Human Trafficking Subcommittee, which is dedicated to improving the judicial process for sexual assault and human trafficking victims. She routinely provided training to law enforcement and other organizations in the community including teachers, medical students, social workers, and Court-Appointed Special Advocates.

Judge Matschat served as a representative of the prosecutor’s office on the Jefferson County Adult Treatment Court. She remains a member of the drug court treatment team and serves as a secondary judge when needed.

She received the Partners in Prevention Award in April 2017 from the Children’s Home Society Safe Haven Child Advocacy Center. She also received an award from the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center in October 2019. 

Judge Matschat is a member of the Junior League of the Eastern Panhandle and is a board member of the Shepherd University Alumni Association and the Shepherd University Foundation. She is a member of Women Investing in Shepherd and actively serves on the student-family association of her children’s school. She is also a past board member of Court-Appointed Special Advocates of the Eastern Panhandle. 

Judge Sean Maynard is a native of Wayne County. He has a 2000 bachelor’s degree in human resource management from West Virginia Institute of Technology and a 2004 law degree from Appalachian School of Law.

He was elected to the bench in the Seventh Family Court Circuit (Wayne County) in May 2016 and took office on January 1, 2017.

He previously was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Wayne County; an associate at Bellomy & Turner, LC; and a law clerk for Twenty-Fourth Judicial Circuit (Wayne County) Darrell Pratt.

He and his wife, Stephanie Maynard, live in Lavalette. They have four children.

Family Court Judge H. Suzanne McGraw was born and raised in Wyoming County. She has a 1988 bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Concord College and a 1991 law degree from Wake Forest Law School, where she won the American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Advocacy.

In 1999, she was appointed a family law master and, in 2001, then-Gov. Bob Wise appointed her to the bench in the Thirteenth Family Court Circuit (Raleigh and Wyoming Counties). She was elected in 2002. In 2008, 2016, and 2024, she was re-elected to a circuit that also included Summers County.

Judge McGraw was in private practice from 1991 to 1999 in Pineville; Beckley; Charleston; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C.

Previously she served as a Girl Scout leader and a member of the Young Lawyer Division of the American Association for Justice. She is a lifelong member of the Methodist Church.

Judge McGraw is married to Circuit Judge Andrew Dimlich, and they have two children.

Judge Julie A. Pence was born and raised in Wayne County, West Virginia, where she graduated from Ceredo-Kenova High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Marshall University in 1999 and her law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2002. She was a member of the West Virginia Law Review and served as vice-president of her class.

From 2002 to 2010, Judge Pence practiced as a litigator with the law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP in Charleston, West Virginia. Following the birth of her second daughter in 2010, Judge Pence practiced in-house with a real estate development company for nearly three years before returning to private practice with Hardy Pence PLLC. At that firm she devoted her entire practice to family law matters.

In June 2021, Governor Jim Justice appointed her to the bench in the Eleventh Family Court Circuit (Kanawha County). She was elected to an eight-year term in 2024.

Judge Pence is married to Chris Pence, a lawyer in Charleston. They live with their two daughters in South Charleston.

Judge Kelly Pritt was elected to the bench in the Eleventh Family Court Circuit (Kanawha County) in May 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025.

Judge Pritt is a native of Buffalo, New York. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Niagara University in 2003 and a law degree from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 2006.

She has practiced family law since 2006 and has handled adoptions, child abuse and neglect cases, criminal defense cases, real estate transactions and estate planning.

She and her husband, Chris, live in Charleston and have two sons.

Judge Brittany Ranson Stonestreet was appointed to the bench in the Eleventh Family Court Circuit (Kanawha County) after her predecessor retired. She took office on December 28, 2020, and was elected to an eight-year term in 2024.  

Judge Ranson Stonestreet was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. She is a proud 2001 alumna of Capital High School. A lifelong Mountaineer fan, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in business administration and political science from West Virginia University in 2007. She was a member of Delta Gamma, where she held various leadership positions.

Judge Ranson Stonestreet graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 2010. In addition to serving as her class president, she was a member of the Order of the Barristers, Moot Court Board, and M.E. Lugar Trial Association. She and her law school trial partner (now husband) were finalists in the school’s annual trial competition – The Lugar Trial Association Invitational. She was also awarded the CALI excellence for the Future Award in Legal Research and Writing and a leadership award from the Women’s Law Caucus.

In 2010, she joined Lyne Ranson Law Offices, PLLC, where she practiced exclusively in the area of family law over the next 10 years. She is an active member of the American Bar Association Family Law Section. She has previously served as chairwoman of the ABA Child Support, Alimony and Custody Committees. She is also a member of the Kanawha County Family Law Bench Bar Committee.

Judge Ranson Stonestreet loves writing and has authored numerous family law publications. In 2015, she co-authored “Divorce in West Virginia: The Legal Process, Your Rights and What to Expect.” She has presented at numerous national and state conferences about family law.

Judge Ranson Stonestreet was appointed to the Judicial Hearing Board effective January 1, 2023, and is currently serving a three-year term.

She is married to her law school sweetheart, Matthew Stonestreet, a consumer rights and class action attorney at Giatras Law Firm. Together, they live in Charleston with their young twin daughters.

Judge Susan Riffle is a native of Harrison County and grew up in Clarksburg. She has a 1987 bachelor's degree in business from Fairmont State College and a 1990 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

She was elected to a seat in the Nineteenth Family Court Circuit (Marion County) in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.

Before she took office, she practiced law with the firm of Hodges & Riffle PLLC with attorney J.T. Hodges (2006-2016). She also served as Marion County’s elected prosecuting attorney (2001-2004) and was a sole practitioner (1990-2000).

Judge Riffle is president of the board of Stepping Stone, Inc., and a trustee at LIFE United Methodist Church.

Judge Jeffrey Roth was appointed to the bench in the Twenty-Fifth Family Court Circuit (Grant, Hardy, and Pendleton Counties) in April 2017. He was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2024.

Judge Roth was born and raised in Grant County and is a 1986 graduate of Petersburg High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from West Virginia University in 1990 and a law degree from Western Michigan Thomas C. Cooley School of Law in 1994.

Upon graduating from law school, Judge Roth began his career with Walters and Krauskopf in Moorefield. In 2001, he formed Roth Legal Services in Petersburg and practiced solo until 2013. During this time, he engaged in extensive work in civil, criminal, and domestic law, as well as real estate and estate planning. In 2012, he began serving as Assistant Prosecutor of Grant County and, in 2012, was elected Prosecutor for Grant County.

Judge Roth is a member of the Oak Dale Presbyterian Chapel where he has served as elder and deacon and is a trustee. He served on the Grant Memorial Hospital Board of Directors for 12 years. He also coached little league basketball and soccer for 10 years. He is a member of the Petersburg Masonic Lodge.

Judge Roth is married to Kim (Hiser) Roth. They have three children, one granddaughter, and one grandson. 

Judge Ron Salmons was born in Huntington and raised in West Hamlin. He has a 1983 bachelor’s degree from Marshall University and a 2006 law degree from Regent University.

He was elected to the bench in the Tenth Family Court Circuit (Boone and Lincoln Counties) in May 2016 and took office on January 1, 2017.

He previously worked at Salmons Law Offices and is a former member of the West Virginia Ethics Commission.

He and his wife, Kelley Salmons, have two children.

Judge Debra L. Steed was elected to the bench in the Third Family Court Circuit (Pleasants and Wood Counties) in May 2024. After her predecessor resigned, Governor Jim Justice appointed her to the same post. She took office on October 22, 2024.

A native of Wood County, she graduated from Parkersburg South High School in 1979 and raised two children before pursuing her own college degree. In 2002, she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Ohio University, graduating summa cum laude. While working full-time for the law firm of Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey, Judge Steed took night classes at Capital University in Columbus and received her law degree in 2006. 

In 2010, she opened her own law firm and began practicing law in the areas of real estate, criminal law, divorce, custody, wills, probate, and abuse/neglect. At the time of her election, she focused her practice on divorce, custody, and real estate issues.

She served as a Parkersburg Municipal Court Judge (2015-2024).

She lives in Parkersburg and has two adult children and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading, walking, and doing crosswords and other word puzzles. 

Governor Jim Justice appointed Judge Richard D. Stephens to the bench in the Twenty-Fourth Family Court Circuit (Berkeley and Jefferson Counties), and he was sworn in on August 23, 2021. He was elected in 2022 and re-elected in 2024.  

Judge Stephens received an undergraduate degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in 1998. He graduated from the Claude W. Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University in 2001.

Judge Stephens was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Berkeley County for 10 years then maintained a solo law practice in the Eastern Panhandle for five years prior to becoming a Berkeley County magistrate, a position he held for four years before becoming a judge.

He and his wife, Colleen Stephens, live in Falling Waters with their four children.

Judge Harley Stollings was elected judge of the Sixteenth Family Court Circuit (Clay and Nicholas Counties) in 2020 and re-elected in 2024.

Judge Stollings was born and raised in Boone County and graduated from Scott High School in 1976. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and received a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law in 1983.

Judge Stollings served as a Nicholas County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1985-1989) and was a Mental Hygiene Commissioner, Fiduciary Commissioner, and Workers’ Compensation Hearing Examiner during his years practicing law in central West Virginia.

Judge Stollings’ daughter, Lindsay, now practices law in Charleston, West Virginia.

Judge Laura Sutton was elected to the Twenty-Fourth Family Court Circuit (Berkeley and Jefferson Counties) in May 2024 and took office January 1, 2025.

Judge Sutton was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, where she graduated from George Washington High School. She has a 1992 bachelor’s degree in English from West Virginia University and a 1995 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

At the time of her election, Judge Sutton was a Child Advocate Attorney for the West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement. For more than two decades she served as General Counsel to the Berkeley County Board of Education. Later, as an attorney for the non-profit Eastern Panhandle Instructional Cooperative, she was Counsel to the Jefferson County Board of Education. Additionally, Judge Sutton practiced education law in private practice with the law firm of Bowles Rice. She began her legal career at Kay, Casto & Chaney.

Judge Sutton has served on the West Virginia Education Alliance Board of Directors. She frequently volunteered in schools and participated in the Read Aloud program. She is active in the local community and is a 2019 graduate of Leadership Berkeley.

Judge Sutton has lived in Martinsburg since 1996 and is the proud mother of two children.

Judge Constance Thomas was elected to the bench in the Fifth Family Court Circuit (Jackson, Mason, and Wirt Counties) in 2008 and re-elected in 2016 and 2024.  

Judge Thomas is a graduate of Point Pleasant High School in Mason County. She graduated magna cum laude from Marshall University in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in business. She received a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law in 1995.

Judge Thomas was admitted to the practice of law in West Virginia in 1995. She was a Mason County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1995-1999) and practiced law with Shaw & Tatterson, L.C., in Point Pleasant (1999-2004) and at her own firm (2004-2008).

She is married to Christopher E. Thomas and they have one son, Ryan.

Judge Matthew T. Thorn was elected to the Twentieth Family Court Circuit (Monongalia and Preston Counties) in May 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025.

Judge Thorn was born in Morgantown and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from West Virginia University in 1998. He worked several years in the pharmaceutical industry before obtaining a master’s degree in education from West Virginia University in 2007 and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, in 2009.

During law school, he had an externship with the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, learning from Dimas Reyes. At the time of his election, he had been a partner with Sal Sellaro Culpepper Legal Group, PLLC, since 2009. His practice included personal injury; wrongful death; family law; real estate; and serving as prosecuting attorney for the Morgantown Municipal Court, Westover City Court, and the Town of Star City.

He was vice president and president of the Monongalia County Bar Association.

Judge Thorn served in the U.S. Army Reserves in the Military Police Corps for 15 years, with most of that service with the 363rd Military Police Unit based in Grafton, West Virginia. He had overseas tours in Germany, Egypt, Panama, and El Salvador.

Judge Thorn is a former rugby player and was an assistant coach and head coach for a variety of rugby teams including Mon River Mud Lobsters, West Virginia University Men’s Rugby, West Virginia University Women’s Rugby, Michigan State Women’s Rugby, Mon River Mud Dogs High School Rugby, and Mon River Maniacs Rugby.

He lives in Morgantown and has two children. He and his children enjoy being involved in sports activities, traveling, and spending quality time together.

Judge Theresa Cogar Turner was elected to the bench in the Seventeenth Family Court Circuit (Braxton, Lewis, and Upshur Counties) in 2016. She was re-elected in 2024 to a newly configured Seventeenth Family Court Circuit that contains only Lewis and Upshur Counties.

Judge Turner is a native of Lewis County. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from West Virginia University and a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

She previously was an assistant public defender in Kanawha County from 2000 to 2005 and in Harrison County in 2006. She was a Child Support Attorney for the West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement from 2006 to 2014 and then served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Lewis County.

She lives in Weston with her husband, Jamie, and two sons.

Judge Richard Witt was born and raised in Red House in Putnam County. He has a 1994 bachelor’s degree in political science from West Virginia State University and a 1997 law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.

He practiced law at Jack Hickok, Attorney at Law, approximately three years and was a sole practitioner approximately 14 years before being elected to the bench in the Twenty-Sixth Family Court Circuit (Putnam County) in 2014. He was re-elected in 2016 and 2024.

He has been an assistant baseball coach and raced all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. At one time, he was ranked third in the nation. He also raced late model stock cars.

He is married to Sheryl Witt and has one son, two stepdaughters, and two step-grandsons. He and his wife live on their farm in Putnam County where they raise beef cattle. Judge Witt also enjoys hunting and shooting sports and regularly travels to Wyoming and Canada on hunting trips.

Governor Jim Justice appointed Judge Adam B. Wolfe to the bench in the Twelfth Family Court Circuit (McDowell and Mercer Counties) and he took office on Sept. 4, 2024. Judge Wolfe was elected in May 2024 to the same seat for an eight-year term that began January 1, 2025.      

Judge Wolfe was born and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. He has a 2003 bachelor’s degree in social work from Concord University and a 2013 law degree from the Appalachian School of Law.

He has practiced law in Southern West Virginia, most recently at the Public Defender Corp. for the Ninth Judicial Circuit (Mercer County).  He also practiced consumer law at Mountain State Justice where he helped West Virginia residents retain their family homes. Judge Wolfe previously was an assistant prosecuting attorney, where he focused on prosecuting felony crimes committed against children. He also operated his own law firm and served as a circuit court law clerk for Supreme Court Justice John Hutchison when Justice Hutchison was a circuit judge in Raleigh County.

Judge Wolfe is a past president and served on the board of the Concord University Alumni Association. He received the Concord University Alumni Association’s Young Alumnus Award in 2014. He is a board member of the Planet X-treme Teen Center, and he is an active member and director of the Rotary Club of Princeton. He also is an assistant scoutmaster in Boy Scout Troop 1 in Princeton and is on the District Committee for the Mountain Dominion District of the Buckskin Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Judge Heather A. Wood was appointed to the bench in the First Family Court Circuit (Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio Counties) in 2018. She was elected later that year and re-elected in 2024.

She received a bachelor’s degree and graduated with departmental honors from the University of New Mexico in 1991. She graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1996. She was a member of the Order of the Barristers, a member of the NITA and ATLA Moot Court trial teams, and a recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Evidence Workshop and the Oklahoma Trial Handbook Award. She had a limited license to practice law while in law school and worked for the Tulsa County Public Defender’s office.

In 1996, she was employed as a public defender at the First Judicial Circuit Public Defender Corporation in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 2000, she joined the firm of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Colantonio & Simon in Weirton, West Virginia, where she practiced family law, bankruptcy, and general civil litigation.

She has been actively involved in youth soccer in the Upper Ohio Valley, acting as a coach, referee, and board member of a local soccer league.

Judge Wood lives in Weirton with her husband, Jack, and their two children.

Judge Christopher Workman was appointed to the bench in the Ninth Family Court Circuit (Logan County) on October 8, 2015. He was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.

He is from Chapmanville. He has a 1998 bachelor’s degree in economics from Centre College and a 2002 law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. While in law school, he served on the editorial staff of the Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy.

Judge Workman was a law clerk in Cabell County to former Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Dan O’Hanlon (2002-2004) and, in Logan County, to Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Eric O’Briant (2011- 2015). From 2005 to 2011, he practiced law in the Charleston office of Hawkins Parnell Thackston and Young, LLP.