Longtime West Virginia circuit judge retiring next year

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - A longtime West Virginia circuit judge is retiring early next year.

The state Supreme Court says 68-year-old Judge Russell M. Clawges Jr. of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Monongalia County plans to retire effective Jan. 31. The court says Clawges has requested to stay on in senior status until his replacement is appointed by Gov. Jim Justice.

Clawges has been a judge since 1997, when then-Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed him. He was elected in 1998 and won re-election three times. He plans to continue as an adjunct faculty member at West Virginia University, where he received a bachelor’s degree and law degree.