John C. Yoder (January 9, 1951 – June 9, 2017) was an American lawyer, business entrepreneur, WV State Senator and WV Circuit Court Judge. Born in

Newton, Kansas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 18,602. Newton is located north of Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. The city of North ...

, Yoder received his B.A, degree from

Chapman College Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its founding ...

and his J.D. degree from the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had ex ...

. Yoder also received his master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. At 26 years old Yoder won an election against a much older incumbent judge and served as a Kansas District Court judge from 1976 to 1980—Yoder was the youngest person ever elected as judge in the United States. Yoder was selected and served 1980-1981 as a judicial fellow with the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

and subsequently served (1981-1983) as special assistant to the Chief Justice (Burger) of the United States Supreme Court. He then served (1983-1984), at the appointment of President Ronald Reagan, as the first director of the Asset Forfeiture Office within the United States Department of Justice. NOTE: In 2014 Yoder and Brad Cates, who served as director following Yoder, wrote an op-ed published in the Washington Post in which they said about the asset forfeiture program they created, "The program began with good intentions but having failed in both purpose and execution, it should be abolished....It is unreformable." Yoder lived in

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...

. In 1990 Yoder ran as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Vir ...

and lost the election, but received a higher percentage of votes than any other candidate running against an incumbent that year. From 1992 to 1996 and from 2004 to 2008, Yoder served in the

West Virginia State Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in th ...

and was a Republican. Yoder was also a practicing attorney and business entrepreuer. In 2010, Yoder was elected to the West Virginia Circuit Court and was re-elected in 2016 and was serving on the court at the time of his death. In 2012, Yoder ran for a seat on the

West Virginia Supreme Court 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 Char ...

and lost the election. However, by running in statewide elections (1990 and 2012) while residing in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Yoder opened the door for other statewide candidates from the easternmost counties of WV. Yoder died June 9, 2017, of complications following a second surgery to replace his aortic heart valve which was first replaced in 2012.

Notes

1951 births 2017 deaths People from Newton, Kansas People from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Chapman University alumni University of Kansas alumni University of Chicago alumni United States Department of Justice officials Kansas state court judges West Virginia circuit court judges Republican Party West Virginia state senators 20th-century West Virginia state court judges 20th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature {{WestVirginia-politician-stub