Elliott E. Maynard

From Judgepedia

Justice Elliot "Spike" Maynard was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. His Supreme Court seat was up for grabs in 2008, and Maynard is no longer in the running, having been ousted by Democratic challengers Margaret Workman and Menis Ketchum and Republican Beth Walker in the state's May primary.

Maynard was first elected to the court in a partisan election in 1996.

2010 Congressional bid

Maynard has announced that he will run as a Republican for the 3rd Congressional District House of Representatives seat in 2010. ^[1]

Legal background

Maynard earned his B.S. from Florida Southern College in 1967, and his J.D. from West Virginia University in 1974.

Legal career

He joined the United States Air Force in 1961, and was attached to a reconnaissance group during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thereafter, he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Wing in the Strategic Air Command, and was honorably released in 1966. From 1968 to 1970 he was Managing Director of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. He was engaged in the private practice of law in Williamson from 1974 to 1981. In 1976, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Mingo County and was re-elected in 1980. In 1981 Governor John D. Rockefeller IV, appointed him as Judge of the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit. He was twice elected judge of that circuit. Justice Maynard is a member of the American Judges Association, the American Bar Association, the American Judicature Society, the West Virginia Bar Association, a former Member of National District Attorneys Association, and a member of the Charleston Rotary Club and other fraternal organizations. In November 1996, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals. He served as chief justice in 2000 and 2004.^[2]

Vacation photos controversy

On January 18, 2008 the Associated Press reported that Justice Maynard agreed to remove himself from a pending case involving Massey Energy Co., days after vacation photos surfaced showing him in Monaco with the coal producer's top executive. Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard said he was stepping down from the matter "despite the fact that I have no doubt in my own mind and firmly believe I have been and would be fair and impartial in this case." Maynard helped form a 3-2 majority in November that overturned a multimillion-dollar judgment against Richmond, Va.-based Massey that another company, Harman Mining, and its president, Hugh Caperton, had won in a contract dispute. Caperton had asked Maynard to step down from the case before the high court reconsiders that ruling. With interest, the damages are worth $76.3 million.