There are seventy-five circuit judges in thirty-one circuits. The circuits vary in size; one has seven judges while several have one judge each. While every country has a courthouse where a judge presides, a single circuit can be comprised of up to four counties.

Eight years.

The circuit courts are trial courts of record. They have jurisdiction over all civil cases in which more than a certain amount is at issue; all cases on equity; proceedings in habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, prohibition and certiorari; and all felonies and misdemeanors. Circuit courts receive appeals from magistrate courts and municipal courts, and family court decisions in domestic violence cases. Additionally, circuit judges receive recommended orders from judicial officers who hear mental health hygiene matters.

$138,600 a year.

Each circuit judge has a law clerk, a secretary, and a court reporter.

In addition to their regular case loads, circuit judges also serve on the Mass Litigation Panel, the Business Court Committee, the Court Improvement Program Board, the Compliance Committee on Prisons and Jails, and several other special committees of the Supreme Court. Circuit judges preside over numerous juvenile and adult treatment courts throughout the state, and dozens of judges are active in civic education programs in public schools, private schools, and colleges and universities.

There are forty-seven family court judges in twenty-seven circuits. There is at least one in every circuit. The largest, Kanawha County, has five.

Eight years.

Family courts have jurisdiction over divorce, annulment, separate maintenance, paternity, grandparent visitation, name change, infant guardianship, child custody, and family support proceedings, except those incidental to child abuse and neglect. Family court judges also hold final hearings in civil domestic violence protective order proceedings and may perform marriages. Family court judges have authority to make final decisions in family court cases. Family court judges can refer parents to mediation and parent education and refer children for guardian ad litem services. The Supreme Court does not charge families who cannot afford to pay for these services. Along with mediation, family court judges can order parents who are divorcing to attend a one-time, mandatory parent education class. The class teaches parents how to minimize the negative effects of divorce and family dissolution on children.

$103,950 a year.

Guardian ad litem must be attorneys. They conduct investigations to help family court judges make decisions in the best interest of the people the guardians represent. Family court judges can appoint guardians ad litem on behalf of children, incarcerated persons, and people who have been adjudicated incompetent who are involved in family court disputes.

Family court judges require all parents to attend mediation sessions if they cannot otherwise resolve parenting issues or agree to a parenting plan. Parents first go to individual pre-mediation screening sessions with a trained family case coordinator to determine if they are candidates for mediation. About twenty percent of parents are not candidates for mediation for various reasons. If parents go to individual pre-mediation for various reasons. If parents go to mediation, they must attend a mediation session with a Supreme Court-approved family court mediator who helps them draft a parenting plan to present to a family court judge.

There are 159 magistrates in West Virginia. There are at least two magistrates in every county, and ten in Kanawha County.

Four years.

Magistrates have jurisdiction over civil cases in which the financial amount in dispute is less than a certain amount. They hear misdemeanor cases and conduct preliminary examinations in felony cases. In criminal cases they issue and record affidavits, complaints, arrest warrants, and search warrants, as well as set bail and make decisions concerning proposed plea agreements, the collection of courts costs, cash bonds, and fines. Magistrates issue emergency protective orders in cases involving domestic violence. Immediately entering domestic violence petitions into the Domestic Violence Database and Registry is an important part of their work. In some counties where there are no mental hygiene commissioners, the chief judge can designate a magistrate to handle all or part of probable cause involuntary hospitalization cases. Magistrates, however, cannot handle final commitment or guardianship cases. In some counties both mental hygiene commissioners and designated magistrates are appointed by the chief judge to do portions of mental hygiene work. Magistrates can enter mental hygiene orders into West Virginia’s Mental Health Registry and issue applications and temporary placement orders after hours and on weekends when needed. Circuit courts hear appeals of magistrate court cases.

Magistrates are paid $63,250 a year.