|
West Virginia State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of West Virginia West Virginia State Constitution is the supreme law of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It expresses the rights of the state's citizens and provides the framework for the organization of law and government. West Virginia is governed under its second and current constitution, which dates from 1872. The document includes fourteen articles and several amendments. History The first constitution for the state was written in 1861. Following the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War, Unionist politicians established a " Restored Government" to assert their loyalty to the U.S. In November of that year, delegates from the state's westernmost counties met in convention at Wheeling to form a new state, dubbed West Virginia, and wrote a constitution for that state. In the midst of the war, slavery proved to be one of the main issues at the convention, but delegates sidestepped the question of emancipation and merely prohibited ens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seal Of West Virginia
The Great Seal of the State of West Virginia was adopted in September 1863. The obverse center of the seal contains a boulder that has been inscribed June 20, 1863, the date West Virginia became a state. In front of the boulder lie two crossed rifles and a liberty cap as a symbol of the state's fight for liberty. The two men on either side of the boulder represent agriculture and industry. On the left stands a farmer with an ax and plow before a cornstalk. On the other side stands a miner with a pickaxe, and behind him an anvil and sledge hammer. The outer ring contains the text "State of West Virginia" and the state's motto "Montani Semper Liberi", ("Mountaineers are Always Free"; the state nickname is "the Mountain State"). The reverse of the seal, also called the lesser seal, is the official seal of the governor. Its motto reads "Libertas E Fidelitate" ("Liberty out of Fidelity"). Motto The Latin phrase () was adopted as the official state motto of West Virginia in Articl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia V
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's List of capitals in the United States, capital is Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach. Its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of more than 8.8million live. Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Circuit Courts
The West Virginia Circuit Courts are the West Virginia State court (United States), state trial courts of general jurisdiction. They are the only state trial courts in West Virginia that are Court of record, courts of record. List of counties in West Virginia, West Virginia's 55 counties are divided into 31 circuits, each comprising anywhere from one to four counties. Different circuits have different numbers of judges; 11 circuits have only a single judge. Effective with the 2024 election, the circuits will be realigned into 30 circuits, with only one having a single judge. Circuit judges were formerly elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms. In 2015, the Legislature changed the law to provide that future elections will be on a non-partisan basis. Judges must have engaged in the practice of law for at least five years. When a vacancy occurs, the governor of West Virginia appoints a judge, who must run in the next election to retain his or her seat. Because of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supreme Court Of Appeals Of West Virginia
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's State court (United States), state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, Charleston, although from 1873 to 1915, it was also required by state law to hold sessions in Charles Town, West Virginia, Charles Town in the state's Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, Eastern Panhandle. The court also holds special sittings at various locations across the state. Although the West Virginia Constitution allowed for an intermediate court of appeals to be created, the Legislature declined to do so from 1974 until 2021. Thus, the Supreme Court provided the only Appellate review, review of the decisions of the state's trial courts of general jurisdiction, the West Virginia Circuit Courts, during that period. In December 2010, the Supreme Court promulgated a major revision of West Virginia's rules of app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuity Of Government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war. Continuity of government was developed by the British government before and during World War II to counter threats, such as that of the ''Luftwaffe'' bombing during the Battle of Britain. The need for continuity of government plans gained new urgency with nuclear proliferation. During and after the Cold War countries developed such plans to avoid (or minimize) confusion and disorder due to a power vacuum in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. In the US, COG is no longer limited to nuclear emergencies; the Continuity of Operations Plan was activated following the September 11 attacks. By country Australia During the years following the federation of Australia in 1901, several locations were considered for the national capital. One of the criteria used to assess sites was that they ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Lottery
The West Virginia Lottery is run by the government of West Virginia. It was established in 1984 via a voter referendum. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The Lottery offers games such as Lotto America, Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch card, scratch tickets. West Virginia has reinterpreted the amendment to its Constitution that permitted its lottery to include casinos, and thus the West Virginia Lottery Commission also regulates slot machines, which are marketed as "video lottery" and available at several hundred businesses; and five "lottery table games" casinos. Jack Whittaker (lottery winner), Jack Whittaker, arguably the most notable American lottery winner, won his then-record Powerball jackpot of about $315 million (annuity value) on a ticket bought in West Virginia for the Christmas, December 25, 2002 drawing. The minimum age to buy West Virginia Lottery tickets is 18, while casinos and slot machine parlors require patrons to be at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its county seat is Charles Town. The county was founded in 1801, and today is part of the Washington metropolitan area. History Formation Jefferson County was established on October 26, 1801 from Berkeley County because the citizens of southeastern Berkeley County felt they had to travel too far to the county seat of Martinsburg. Charles Washington, the founder of Charles Town and brother to George Washington, petitioned for a new county to be formed. It was named for Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States. Virginia previously had a Jefferson County, which is now part of Kentucky. Accordingly, in the State records of Virginia, there are listings for Jefferson County from 1780 to 1792 and Jefferson Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the eastern panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown–Martinsburg metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the County (United States), county population was 122,076, making it the second-most populous of West Virginia's 55 counties, behind Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County. The Martinsburg, West Virginia, City of Martinsburg is the county seat. History Created on May 15, 1772, by an act of the House of Burgesses from the northern third of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederick County when it was part of Virginia, Berkeley County went on to become West Virginia's second-oldest county after that state seceded from Virginia in 1863 during the American Civil War, Civil War. At the time of the county's formation, Berkeley County comprised areas that now are part of present-day Jefferson County, West Virginia, Jefferson and Morgan County, W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia Legislature
The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's split from Virginia during the American Civil War in 1863. As with its neighbor and former constituent Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ..., the legislature's lower house is also referred to as a "House of Delegates." The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Charleston. Terms Senators are elected for terms of four years and delegates for terms of two years. The terms for senators are staggered, meaning that not all 34 state ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia State Capitol Building
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''vest'' in Romanian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב (maarav) 'west' from עֶרֶב (erev) 'evening'. West is sometimes abbreviated as W. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read: The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both control of the government by religion and political control of religion by the government. By it, the federal government of the United States and, by later extension, the governments of all U.S. states and U.S. territories, are prohibited from establishing or sponsoring religion. The clause was based on a number of precedents, including the Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. An initial draft by John Dickinson was prepared in conjunction with his drafting the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, then-congressman James Madison prepared another ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalty Oath
Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the object of loyalty. The definition of loyalty in law and political science is the fidelity of an individual to a nation, either one's nation of birth, or one's declared home nation by oath (naturalization). Historical concepts The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition defines loyalty as "allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one's country" and also "personal devotion and reverence to the sovereign and royal family". It traces the word "wikt:loyalty, loyalty" to the 15th century, noting that then it primarily referred to fidelity in service, in love, or to an oath that one has made. The meaning that the ''Britannica'' gives as primary, it attributes to a shift during the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
