Public defender takes over justice of the peace position in Brooke County | News, Sports, Jobs

WELLSBURG – Attorney Robert Catlett has been appointed Justice of the Peace of Brooke County by Judge David Sims of the 1st District Court.

Catlett’s appointment fills a seat vacated by the resignation of Daniell Diserio, who decided to pursue other opportunities. He is expected to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot for the full term, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office.

Catlett graduated from Brooke High School in 1990 and continued his studies at West Virginia Wesleyan College and West Virginia University School of Law, where he served as senior editor of the WVU Law Review.

After graduating from WVU, he worked for a law firm in Huntington and as a public defender in Fayette County for a year before returning to his home county to serve with the Public Defenders Corps of the Northern Panhandle from 2018 to 2022.

Having handled criminal cases at all levels of the West Virginia court system, Catlett said of his new position, “I have always enjoyed a challenge and am excited about the opportunity to look at the system from a different perspective.”

Catlett had filed as a Democratic candidate for Brooke County Prosecutor, a position on the ballot in the November 5 general election, but had to withdraw his candidacy to accept the position of Justice of the Peace.

He said he chose it because he felt he could be most useful in that role.

Catlett said the magistrate plays an important role in the justice system and in society.

“I live here (in Brooke County) and the well-being of the county is very important to me,” he said.

He said that in preparation for his candidacy for district attorney, he had suspended his work as a public defender for a year, during which many of the cases he had handled had been resolved.

Catlett said he would recuse himself as a judge from all cases in which he served as a public defender. He said defendants in cases before him that he represented as a public defender could request his recuse.

Justices of the peace in West Virginia try criminal cases involving minor offenses and conduct preliminary investigations into felony cases. They can issue criminal charges that lead to arrests, issue arrest and search warrants, issue orders of protection in cases of domestic violence, and hear civil cases involving amounts in dispute under $10,000.

Each district has at least two justices of the peace, who serve four-year terms and are elected in non-partisan elections.