CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay is looking back on his inaugural year serving Kanawha County citizens.
Richard Lindsay
He says he’s enjoyed the adjustment and is thankful for a well-rounded staff.
“I like my job. I like being a judge. As far as a takeaway, I think that the judges here in the circuit court of Kanawha County and the prosecutors and defense attorneys just do a good job,” Lindsay said last week on “580 Live” with Dave Allen on WCHS Radio.
Lindsay, the state senator from 2018 to 2022, says his approach has always been the same: be accessible for the citizens of Kanawha County.
“I enjoy being around people and I try to give them as much opportunity to talk to me. That’s the same as it was when I was in the legislature. I was always available to my constituents to talk to me and hear me out if they disagreed with me or hear me out to try to help them,” Lindsay said.
“I try to take that same type of direction in the courtroom. I really try to take my time and explain my decision one way or the other and give everyone an opportunity to speak,” he continued.
Lindsay says this year opened his eyes to the reality of how bothersome certain cases can be.
“You read stories in the paper about some of the horrific things that come out of those abuse and neglect cases and then you’re in it, and you actually see where evil does exist in the world. That can be tough to take,” he said.
In year one on the bench, Lindsay had a couple large ruling with statewide and even national implications. On November 10, Lindsay denied a preliminary injunction and dismissed a case over whether Governor Patrick Morrisey was within his authority to deploy the West Virginia National Guard to patrol Washington, D.C.
Morrisey originally deployed 300 to 400 members of the National Guard for support after President Trump declared a “crime emergency.” Later in the month, two members of the Guard — Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, were shot while patrolling outside the White House. Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day and Wolfe is still recovering.
Just days before the shooting, the mission was scaled back and just 160 Guard members stayed in the nation’s capital on a volunteer basis.
Also within the past three months, Lindsay denied a family’s religious exemptions claim to school vaccination requirement. This ruling was before Circuit Judge Michael Froble granted permanent injunctive and declaratory relief to families wanting the public school system to accept religious exemptions processed by the state health department.