Associated Press Published

Panel Recommends Replacements for Two W.Va. Judges

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An advisory panel is recommending two Mingo County public defenders as potential candidates to replace former Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury.
 
     The Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission submitted the names of Teresa McCune and Jonathan Jewel to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Tuesday.

     The commission also recommended Deloris Nibert to replace former Putnam County Family Court Judge William Watkins. Nibert was the only applicant for the position.
 
     Thornsbury pleaded guilty in October to a federal conspiracy charge and resigned from the bench.
 
     Watkins resigned in November. The state Supreme Court had suspended him in March until the end of his term in 2016. He was accused of delaying rulings, screaming and cursing at litigants, and failing to enter domestic violence orders into the state’s tracking system.