W.Va. Supreme Court justice dies

Armstead died following a brief hospitalization, the court said in a statement without elaborating.

Armstead was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2018 to fill a vacancy by the retirement of Justice Menis Ketchum. Armstead won a special election later that year to serve the remainder of Ketchum’s term. Ketchum later was sentenced in federal court to probation on a felony fraud count related to his personal use of a state vehicle and gas fuel card.

Armstead then was elected to a full 12-year term on the court in 2020. He served as the court’s rotating chief justice in 2020 and 2024.

In a statement, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Armstead was “a good and decent man who always tried to set the right ethical tone in all of his actions.”

Born in Charleston, Armstead graduated from the University of Charleston and earned a law degree from West Virginia University. He served on the staffs of U.S. District Judge David Faber and Govs. Arch A. Moore Jr. and Cecil Underwood. Underwood appointed Armstead to a vacant seat on the House of Delegates in 1998 and he was elected later that year. He was named House speaker in 2015.

Republican Delegate Roger Hanshaw replaced Armstead as House speaker and remains in the position.

“West Virginia lost a very special person today, and I lost another wonderful friend,” Hanshaw said. “I will miss the wise counsel he often gave me in times of tough decisions.”