All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

West Virginia governor appoints Thomas H. Ewing to the Supreme Court of Appeals

Governor Patrick Morrisey has appointed Fayette County Circuit Judge Thomas H. Ewing, a longtime legal professional and community leader, to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Governor Patrick Morrisey announced Wednesday he has appointed Thomas H. Ewing to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

“Judge Ewing has demonstrated that he is a man of integrity and that he approaches his role as a judge the right way,” said Morrisey. “His written orders and decisions reflect careful consideration of the issues he is asked to rule on and concern for the rule of law. And he has shown that he cares about West Virginia.”

Ewing was one of four candidates recommended by the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Committee (JVAC). He currently serves as a circuit judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Fayette County). After being appointed in December of 2018, Ewing was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024.

“I am honored that Governor Morrisey has appointed me as a justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals,” said Judge Ewing. “I look forward to bringing my dedication to the rule of law and my seven years of experience as a circuit judge to our State’s highest appellate court.”

As circuit judge, Judge Ewing presides over the Fayette County Adult Treatment Court and started and presides over the Fayette County Family Treatment Court, the Fayette County Teen Court, and the Fayette County Truancy Diversion Program. He has served as a commissioner on West Virginia’s Juvenile Justice Commission since 2019. He was recently recognized as a 2025 West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow and as a 2025 Champion of Children by Just for Kids, Inc.

“Judge Ewing has served by temporary assignment in six different cases at the Supreme Court of Appeals, so he already comes to this position with valuable experience on the State’s high court,” added Morrisey.

Ewing is a native of Fayette County, growing up in Hico and graduating from Midland Trail High School. He has bachelor’s degrees in education (2000) and history (2001) from Glenville State College and a 2004 law degree from West Virginia University, where he was Order of the Coif and executive research editor and associate editor of the West Virginia Law Review.

Ewing was an attorney with the law firm of Kay, Casto & Chaney, PLLC, from 2004 until his appointment to the bench in 2018 and was the managing member of its Fayetteville office from 2015 to 2018.

He is a current member of the West Virginia Judicial Association Executive Committee and is active in the association’s Education and Law Clerk Education Committees. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Midland Trail Community Center, Inc., and attends Grace Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

Prior to and during his time as judge, he has coached youth sports. He and his wife, Mindy, have four children and two grandchildren.

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