FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (WVDN) – Judge W.E. Sam Fox, II, will be publicly sworn in as a circuit judge in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Fayette County) during a formal investiture ceremony at Noon on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in the circuit court courtroom at the historic Fayette County Courthouse.
The public is invited to attend, and a reception will follow.
Judge Fox was appointed on Nov. 12 by Gov. Patrick Morrissey to fill the seat previously held by Justice Thomas H. Ewing, which was vacated when the governor appointed Justice Ewing to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
Judge Fox was officially sworn in to office during a private ceremony on Dec. 4 in order to begin work.
Judge Fox is the first Oak Hill native to serve as a Fayette County Circuit Court judge in more than 100 years. He graduated from Oak Hill High School (1982), and he has a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College in education and government (1986). He also has a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law (1989), where he was on the Moot Court Board. He served in the clinic program and served as class president.
During breaks in law school, he worked as a substitute teacher for the Fayette County Board of Education. At West Virginia Wesleyan College, he was captain of the tennis team and a conference tournament finalist. He currently serves as a trustee on the West Virginia Wesleyan College Board of Trustees.
Before his appointment to the circuit court, Judge Fox practiced law for 36 years with the firms of Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso, PLLC, (1991-2025) and Kay Casto and Chaney (1989-1991). He had a state-wide legal practice handling and trying cases from Fayetteville to Morgantown and Huntington to Jefferson County.
He was recognized by his peers by Best Lawyers as Lawyer of the Year in Health Care Law (2022, Charleston, WV). He was also recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2017-2025) in the fields of Medical Malpractice Defense and Health Care Law and he was also recognized in Super Lawyers (2017-2025), which is an honor awarded to only 5 percent of all attorneys.
In addition to his usual responsibilities as a circuit judge, Judge Fox is also presiding over the Fayette County Family Treatment Court and the Fayette County Adult Treatment Court.
He is married to Christine H. Fox, and they are members of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Oak Hill. They have two adult children.
