CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Chief Justice C. Haley Bunn issued the following statement on the passing of Kanawha County Magistrate Joe Shelton, who died yesterday.
“The West Virginia judiciary mourns the loss of Magistrate Shelton, who had a long history of distinguished service to the people of Kanawha County and our state,” Chief Justice Bunn said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.”
First elected in 1976, Magistrate Shelton was one of Kanawha County’s first magistrates elected following the 1974 West Virginia Judicial Reorganization Amendment that replaced the former justice of the peace system with magistrate courts.
He served his first tenure as magistrate from 1977 to 1980 and was chief magistrate several times. He then took a job with the Division of Highways, working there from 1980 to 1997. He worked for the State Treasurer’s Office from 1998 to 2003.
He was again elected as a Kanawha County Magistrate and served continuously from 2003 until his death.
