CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The opening of the January Term of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia will be at 10 a.m. on January 13, 2009, in the Supreme Court Chamber on the third floor of the East Wing of the state Capitol.

On this occasion, the Supreme Court will welcome new Justices Menis Ketchum and Margaret Workman and will memorialize attorneys and judges who died in 2008. Justices Ketchum and Workman were elected to full, twelve-year terms on November 4, 2008, and took office on January 1.

To begin the ceremony, the John Marshall Fife and Drum Corps from Marshall University will Present the Colors.

Chief Justice Brent D. Benjamin, whose first term as Chief Justice began January 1, will preside over the opening and will discuss the upcoming year. This event marks the first time a Term of Court has opened in such a manner and is the first of many initiatives Chief Justice Benjamin plans for 2009.

This and all sessions of the Supreme Court are open to the public.

The Court’s first argument docket of the Term will commence at 2 p.m.