West Virginia circuit judge retiring after 13 years on bench

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia circuit judge is retiring at the end of the year.

Judge Phillip D. Gaujot will retire from the 17th Judicial Circuit, which covers Monongalia County, on Dec. 31, the Supreme Court said.

Then-Gov. Joe Manchin appointed Gaujot to the bench in 2009, and he was elected in 2012 and reelected in 2016.

Gaujot graduated from West Virginia University in 1968 and received his law degree from WVU College of Law in 1971. He began practicing as an assistant attorney general, and was in private practice from 1974 until his appointment to the bench.