Justice Margaret L . Workman
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Photo by Rick Lee .
KRISTEN UPPERCUE
MARGARET WORKMAN didn ’ t grow up dreaming of her future career as many young children do .
“ Without any real career role models , I didn ’ t know to dream ,” says Workman , a coal miner ’ s daughter . “ But I loved to read , did very well in school and received so much positive feedback from my teachers that I wanted to be like them .”
In ninth grade , Workman ’ s teacher asked her where she wanted to attend college — a possibility that had never occurred to her . That day , she discovered her dream : to go to college and become a teacher .
“ I worked from the time I was 15 years old and saved every dollar to use toward college ,” she says . “ I worked my way through undergrad and law school .”
During this time , she also became passionately involved in many social issues .
“ So many young men I went to high school with were drafted , and some never came back ,” she recalls . “ Vietnam , civil rights , women ’ s rights — these all became a significant focus in the lives of young people in the 1960s .”
Workman attended Morris Harvey College her freshman year before transferring to West Virginia University ( WVU ), where she graduated in 1969 with a degree in political science and a minor in journalism . She then attended the WVU College of Law and earned her Juris Doctor in 1974 . She loved the Capitol Hill atmosphere she experienced during a summer internship with the U . S . House of Representatives , so , after law school , she headed to Washington , D . C ., and served as assistant counsel to the majority of the U . S . Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works , which was chaired by West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph .
“ I loved the work at the Senate , especially during the Watergate era , but after a few years I recognized that I had to make a decision on whether I wanted to make a career working in Congress or whether I wanted to get into the actual practice of law ,” she says .
Workman returned to her hometown of Charleston , where she served as a law clerk for the seven judges of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County . In 1976 , she took a leave of absence to travel the nation as an advance woman for Rosalyn Carter in Jimmy Carter ’ s presidential campaign and later opened her own law firm . In 1981 , she was elected as a circuit court judge — the youngest in the state at the time and only the second female circuit court judge elected in West Virginia .
Upon her election , she inherited the largest backlog of cases in the state . She held hearings six days a week , reduced the docket to the lowest in the circuit and conducted more jury trials than any other judge in West Virginia during that time period . She also visited every prison and secure juvenile correctional facility in West Virginia .
Prior to taking the bench , Workman was involved in many community and church activities . She helped found the Charleston Interdenominational Council on Social Concerns , Covenant House and Manna Meal . She was also a member of
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE