Justice Menis Ketchum was
elected to a full twelve-year term of the Supreme Court of Appeals on
November 4, 2008. Justice Ketchum was born in 1943 in Huntington, West Virginia,
and raised in Wayne County. He was educated in Wayne County public schools
before attending Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he played varsity
baseball and was a member of the 1964 Mid-American Conference Championship
Baseball Team. Justice Ketchum returned to West Virginia to attend West Virginia
University Law School. While in law school he was a contributing writer and
associate editor for the West Virginia Law Review. He received his law
degree in 1967 and returned to Huntington to join his father, Chad W. Ketchum
(1911-1998) in the practice of law with the firm of Greene, Ketchum & Baker.
He practiced at that firm and its successors, eventually becoming the senior
partner, until his election to the Court. Justice Ketchum's law practice included insurance defense, personal
injury, and criminal defense. He was recognized continuously from 1989 to 2008
in The Best Lawyers in America and was a member of the Leading
Honoraries, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of
Trial Advocates. Throughout his legal career he published legal articles and
presented numerous continuing legal education seminars. Justice Ketchum also served as a member of the Board of Governors of
Marshall University from 2002 until his campaign for the Court, and served as
Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board from 2003 until 2008. At the time of his
election to the Court, he served on the Boards of the Public Defender
Corporations for the Sixth and 24th Judicial Circuits. He previously
served on the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority, participated in the statewide
Vision Shared Health Care Team and the Governor's Mine Safety Task Force. Justice Ketchum has been married to the former Judy Varnum since 1966
and they have three children, Kelli Morgan, Bert Ketchum, and Chad Ketchum, and
six grandchildren.
Justice Menis Ketchum was
elected to a full twelve-year term of the Supreme Court of Appeals on
November 4, 2008. Justice Ketchum was born in 1943 in Huntington, West Virginia,
and raised in Wayne County. He was educated in Wayne County public schools
before attending Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he played varsity
baseball and was a member of the 1964 Mid-American Conference Championship
Baseball Team. Justice Ketchum returned to West Virginia to attend West Virginia
University Law School. While in law school he was a contributing writer and
associate editor for the West Virginia Law Review. He received his law
degree in 1967 and returned to Huntington to join his father, Chad W. Ketchum
(1911-1998) in the practice of law with the firm of Greene, Ketchum & Baker.
He practiced at that firm and its successors, eventually becoming the senior
partner, until his election to the Court. Justice Ketchum's law practice included insurance defense, personal
injury, and criminal defense. He was recognized continuously from 1989 to 2008
in The Best Lawyers in America and was a member of the Leading
Honoraries, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of
Trial Advocates. Throughout his legal career he published legal articles and
presented numerous continuing legal education seminars. Justice Ketchum also served as a member of the Board of Governors of
Marshall University from 2002 until his campaign for the Court, and served as
Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board from 2003 until 2008. At the time of his
election to the Court, he served on the Boards of the Public Defender
Corporations for the Sixth and 24th Judicial Circuits. He previously
served on the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority, participated in the statewide
Vision Shared Health Care Team and the Governor's Mine Safety Task Force. Justice Ketchum has been married to the former Judy Varnum since 1966
and they have three children, Kelli Morgan, Bert Ketchum, and Chad Ketchum, and
six grandchildren.