WV Judge Haden dies

West Virginia recently lost one of its biggest environmental advocates over the weekend. Do you think he'll be cold in his grave before the Bushistas move in to rape the land even further?

http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2004/03/21/ar/

(note: this bit is from an e-mail I received, so I can't link to it)

The Honorable
Charles H. Haden II

The Honorable Charles H. Haden II, United States District Judge, passed
away at his home in Charleston on March 20, 2004. He was 66 years of
age.

Judge Haden was born April 16, 1937, in Morgantown, to the late Charles
H. and Beatrice (Costolo) Haden...Judge Haden was educated in the Monongalia County Schools. He graduated
from West Virginia University College of Commerce (B.S. Bus. Admin.
1958) and West Virginia University College of Law (J.D. 1961), where he
served as a member of the Board of Editors of the West Virginia Law
Review. In professional life, Judge Haden was a practicing lawyer, a
teacher and a distinguished public servant.

Judge Haden began his career in private practice with his father in the
Morgantown law firm of Haden & Haden from 1961-69. He served from
1967-68 as a member of the faculty at the College of Law. During that
same time period, he served on the Monongalia County Board of Education.
He was also a member of the State Bar, the West Virginia Bar, and the
American Bar Association.

Judge Haden is counted amongst a select number of West Virginians who
have served in all three branches of West Virginia government. Judge
Haden served in the legislative branch as a member of the House of
Delegates from Monongalia County from 1963-64. He served in the
executive branch as State Tax Commissioner from 1969-72. He was then
appointed to the judicial branch on June 21, 1972, becoming a Justice on
the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Judge Haden was elected
to that position on November 7, 1972, becoming Chief Justice in 1975.
Judge Haden also served as Chair of the West Virginia Public Schools
Study Commission and as West Virginia Chair for the Bicentennial
Commission of the United States Constitution.

Judge Haden was appointed a United States District Judge for the
Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia by President Gerald
Ford in November 1975. He became Chief Judge of the Southern District in
May 1982 and stepped down as Chief Judge in December 2002. At that time,
he was the senior active chief judge in the federal court system. Judge
Haden served as a visiting judge to district courts in North Carolina,
South Carolina and Florida, along with sitting in that same capacity
with the United States Courts of Appeal for both the Fourth and Second
Circuits. During his service on the state and federal benches, Judge
Haden authored nearly eight hundred published opinions.

Judge Haden was appointed to the Committee on the Administration of the
Probation System by Chief Justice Burger in 1979 and served until 1986.
Judge Haden also served as a member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial
Council from 1986-91 and 1996-00. He was president of the Fourth Circuit
District Judges Association from 1993-95. In June 1997, Judge Haden was
elected as the Fourth Circuit District Judge representative to the
United States Judicial Conference, the principal policy making body
overseeing the administration of the United States Courts. He was the
first West Virginia judge to serve in that capacity. In October 1999,
Chief Justice William Rehnquist named him to the Executive Committee of
the Conference, and later named him to the chairmanship of the Executive
Committee from 2000-02.

Judge Haden served with distinction in many other capacities as well.
He was the president of the West Virginia University Alumni Association
from 1982-83. Additionally, he served on the visiting committees for
both the College of Law and the School of Medicine and as a member of
the West Virginia University Foundation Board of Directors.

As a result of a life dedicated to public service and the law, Judge
Haden received great public recognition. He was a life fellow of the
American Bar Foundation and the West Virginia Bar Foundation. In 1972,
Judge Haden was selected the outstanding appellate jurist by the West
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He received the College of Law's
Gavel Award in 1973. He was named outstanding trial judge in 1982 by the
West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He was named Outstanding
Alumnus of West Virginia University in 1986. One year later, Judge Haden
was honored by the West Virginia Law Review as Alumnus of the Year. He
was inducted into the Order of Vandalia in 2001, the highest award given
by West Virginia University. In 2001, he was the recipient of the
College of Law's highest honor, the Justitia Officium award. In 2004, he
was inducted into the West Virginia University Alumni Association's
Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Shortly thereafter, the Judge Charles
H. Haden II Professorship of Law was dedicated at the College of Law in
honor of his groundbreaking contributions to the judiciary and the legal
profession. In final recognition of Judge Haden, Gov. Bob Wise issued a
proclamation officially mourning his passing and ordering all state
flags flown at half staff in honor of a life and legacy of devotion and
service to the citizenry of West Virginia.

From 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2004, Judge Haden will lie in state
for a public viewing in his courtroom on the seventh floor of the Robert
C. Byrd United States Courthouse in Charleston. Following their visit to
the seventh floor, members of the general public are invited to visit
with friends and family at a reception on the fifth floor of the United
States Courthouse during the hours of 1-4 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the West
Virginia University Foundation Incorporated, designated to either the
College of Law, College of Business and Economics or the College of
Human Resources and Education.