FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – As the May election draws closer, a current Fayette County circuit judge says he is ready to serve a full term.
Judge Sam Fox was appointed to the bench by Governor Patrick Morrisey to fill the vacancy left by Thomas Ewing’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
According to Fox, the time already spent on the bench has been successful.
“Since I’ve been in this role, I’ve seen everything,” Fox said. “The first day I was on the job, I had ten hearings in front of me, everything from abuse and neglect cases to criminal matters. I’ve tried three trials since I’ve been on the bench. One was a significant drug distribution case here locally. It was a five-count felony matter, and the trial went off without a hitch.”
Before his appointment, Fox’s extensive legal career spanned three decades and saw him deal with cases in 40 counties around the state.
“I’ve appeared in front of between 100 and 150 different judges throughout my career, both at the state level, the circuit court level, and the federal court level,” Fox said. “I’ve argued cases before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, and I’ve also argued cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. That experience really has provided a good opportunity and a good basis for me to serve in the current role that I’m in.”
Fox said drugs are a huge issue in Fayette County and says it is important to balance being tough on crime while still giving people a chance at a second chance.
He said his work with the adult treatment court and family treatment court is important because it connects people with the help they need.
“Certainly, when we’ve got people that are are selling drugs and distributing drugs in the county, we need to be tough on them,” he said. “I’m very proud of the fact that I’m one of ten judges around the state that presides over both an adult treatment court and a family treatment court. During that process, we work with people who have to meet certain qualifications to get into those specialty drug rehabilitation programs.”
Fox grew up in Oak Hill. His family has been in Fayette County for centuries.
“My family has been here for a long, long time. They moved to Fayette County in the early 1800s, up at Horseshoe up near Anstead, and they eventually, in the early 1900s, left Ramsey and moved to Gatewood Road,” he said. “My father owned a grocery store over on Virginia Street across from the old high school. It was called Midget Market, but some people referred to it as Quiggles. He owned that up until his death in 1983. My mother was a long-time employee of Plateau Medical Center, where she worked in medical records, and my sister Sandy Fox worked at Merchants and Miners Bank for a long, long time. She was a long-time volunteer here in Fayette County, where she served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and on a number of other nonprofit volunteer boards.”
Fox said that close connection to Fayette County has both prepared him to be a judge and made him want to give back to the community. He said he has learned what it takes to be an effective judge.
“I think you’ve got to be fair and impartial,” Fox said. “Obviously, you’ve got to have the right judicial temperament. You’ve got to have experience. All of those things go into becoming a good judge. As a judge, you’re not only handling cases in the courtroom, but you oversee courtroom staff, you oversee people in the courthouse, you oversee magistrates. It’s not uncommon for a magistrate to come and see me on a daily or weekly basis with a legal question about how to handle things.”
Fox said he gives everyone who appears before him fair treatment.
“I’m fair and impartial. I’m independent. I don’t owe anybody in Fayette County anything. I’m able to listen to every case that comes before me and decide the case based upon the facts and the law and argument of counsel,” he said. “I’m not part of the old boys network.”
