§51-11-6. Election of judges; initial appointment and election; vacancies; length and conditions of judicial terms.

(a) The three judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis to serve 10-year terms, subject to the exceptions for initial appointments and elections contained in subsection (b) and subsection (c) of this section.

(b) Nomination and election to fill initial vacancies. — The judges shall be nominated and appointed according to the following procedure:

(1) (A) On or before January 1, 2022, the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission, established pursuant to §3-10-3a of this code, shall publish notice of the judicial vacancies for the Intermediate Court of Appeals and begin accepting applications from qualified individuals for the position of judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The commission is responsible for reviewing and evaluating candidates for possible appointment to the Intermediate Court of Appeals by the Governor. In reviewing candidates, the commission may accept applications from any attorney who believes he or she to be qualified for the judgeships. The commission may accept comments from and request information from any person or source.

(B) The commission shall recommend three qualified nominees for each position for Intermediate Court of Appeals judge: Provided, That each person on the list must meet the requirements of §51-11-3(d) of this code at the time such person will begin his or her term on the court.

(2) The Governor shall review the list certified by the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission and nominate three qualified candidates to serve as judge. The Governor shall make his or her nominations without regard to political partisanship or affiliation. If the Governor does not select a nominee for the position of judge from the names provided by the commission, he or she shall notify the committee of that circumstance and the commission shall provide additional names for consideration by the Governor.

(3) The initial appointment term for each of the judges, at the discretion of the Governor, shall be as follows: one judge shall be selected to serve a two and one-half year term set to expire on December 31, 2024, one judge shall be selected to serve a four and one-half year term set to expire on December 31, 2026, and one judge shall be selected to serve a six and one-half year term set to expire on December 31, 2028.

(4) Upon confirmation by the West Virginia Senate, an individual appointed to serve as a judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals pursuant to this subsection shall take an oath of office and commence his or her duties on or before July 1, 2022, but no earlier than May 1, 2022.

(c) After the initial appointment, the judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis by division during the primary election in every year during which a sitting judge’s term will expire for a 10-year term of office, and the judge’s term shall commence on January 1 of the year following, as set forth in §3-5-1 et seq. of this code.

(d) If a vacancy occurs in the office of Intermediate Court judge, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment as provided in §3-10-3 and §3-10-3a of this code.

(e) The Legislature recognizes that the Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has authority to temporarily assign judges to the Intermediate Court of Appeals pursuant to section eight, article VIII of the Constitution of West Virginia, in the event that a judge is temporarily unable to serve on the court.

(f) The amendments to §51-11-6(b)(3) of this code enacted by the regular session of the Legislature, 2022, shall be applied retrospectively to December 27, 2021.