Judge William J. Sadler was appointed to the bench in Mercer County and took office on January 1, 2007. He was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2016 and 2024.

Judge Sadler is a lifelong resident of Mercer County and graduated from Bluefield High School. He graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University College of Business and Economics in 1985 and graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 1988.

He practiced law in Princeton from 1988 to 1998. He was the elected Mercer County Prosecutor from 1998 until he took the bench.

He is a member of the West Virginia Judicial Association; a past member of the National District Attorneys’ Association; and a past member, past board member, and past President of the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association.

Judge Sadler has attended courses at the National College of Advocacy in Columbia, South Carolina, and at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.

He is a member of Delta Theta Phi, Beta Alpha Psi, and Beta Gamma Sigma.

He and his wife, Barbara, have two daughters and two grandchildren.