Judiciary welcomes Phillip Gaujot to bench

 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin today welcomed Phillip D. Gaujot of Morgantown to the judiciary. Governor Joe Manchin III on Tuesday appointed Judge Gaujot to the new circuit judge position in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Monongalia County.

The Legislature created the seat earlier this year through Senate Bill 338, which passed during the 2009 regular legislative session. Judge Gaujot will join Chief Judge Russell M. Clawges, Jr., and Judge Susan B. Tucker in the Seventeenth Circuit.

"I have had the opportunity to work with Mr. Gaujot in the past. He has always been a fine gentleman and a fine attorney. I believe he will be an outstanding judge," said Chief Justice Benjamin.

Judge Gaujot, 64, has practiced law in West Virginia for 38 years and has served as administrative law judge for Workforce West Virginia for the past eight years. He was an assistant attorney general from 1971 to 1974 and since then has been a solo practitioner in Charleston and Morgantown. Additionally, Judge Gaujot served as general counsel for the city of Nitro for eighteen years, the city of Shinnston for eight years, and for the sheriff of Kanawha County.

         He is a member of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia University Alumni Association, having received his bachelor's degree in political science in 1968 and his law degree in 1971 from WVU. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Mon General Hospital Foundation and a past member of Session of the First Presbyterian Church in Morgantown.

"I am absolutely humbled. I am humbled that I can serve the community as a judge because I do think the judge of a circuit court is one of the most important, if not the most important, jobs in the county," Judge Gaujot said. "I look forward to representing the people of this county and doing it in the fairest way. I believe that I can set aside any preconceived thoughts that I might have, or even biases that I might have, and rule based upon the merits of a case and the facts and the law. I believe I have the wisdom to do that.

"I am humbled by all the support that was given to me in this endeavor of being appointed as a judge. I had a lot of support from a lot of lawyers and non-lawyers from around the state, and around the country for that matter," Judge Gaujot said.

He said he is eager to start work as soon as the logistics of his training and swearing-in can be worked out. He does not know when that will be.

"We welcome Judge Gaujot and look forward to working with him," said Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury."