Redrawing W.Va.'s Judiciary

With some circuit judges juggling twice the caseloads of their colleagues, the state's court system is facing a real crunch, as The Associated Press reports.

Gov. Joe Manchin wants the Legislature to redraw the state's 31 circuits to shift workloads and ease driving times for judges and staff. With anemic or declining population growth, Manchin and others consider this route preferable to hiring more judges.

Lawmakers had chosen the latter path, prompting one of the governor's 16 vetoes from the recent regular session.

But as the AP story points out, the same Supreme Court-commissioned study that told lawmakers where to add judges can also tell them how to re-carve circuits.

Manchin says he will consider convening a special session on the issue -- but only if the Legislature agrees to a bill beforehand. Otherwise, the state constitution will not allow a realignment of the circuits until 2015.

The Charleston Daily Mail has also reported on the situation, while the Bluefield Daily-Telegraph hears from Manchin about his veto. The study ranked Mercer County Circuit Court among those with the heavier caseloads per judge, and the nixed bill had included it among those offered relief.