photo by: Emma Delk

Joseph Barki, center, is sworn in to become a First Judicial Circuit Court Judge alongside his family members. U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia James Mazzone, left, administers the oath.

WHEELING — Former Brooke County Prosecutor Joseph Barki was installed as a First Judicial Circuit Court Judge during his investiture held at West Virginia Independence Hall.

Barki’s family and friends, judiciary members, law enforcement members and local attorneys filled the third-floor courtroom on Friday for the ceremony.

Barki inherited the bench from longtime incumbent judge Ronald Wilson after beating Wilson in the May 2024 election. Barki will serve an eight-year term in office and initially preside over Hancock County criminal cases to avoid potential conflicts of interest in Brooke County.

James Mazzone, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of WV, administered Barki’s oath of office. Barki was joined by his wife, Kelly Barki, and children Abby, Joey and Eva, as he took the oath of office.

Once he had donned his robes, Barki thanked the ceremony’s speakers, attendees and his family.

“I was not wild about the pomp and circumstance of an investiture, as it’s just kind of against my general demeanor,” Barki said. “I’m much more of a buckle up and get started working kind of person, but each of these guys [First Judicial Court judges] stressed to me, individually and as a group, to embrace it. They reminded me that this is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement and that I should take it all in, so I’ve tried to do that.”

Barki recalled that as a child in Windsor Heights in Brooke County, it never crossed his mind to be an attorney, as every father he knew worked a blue-collar job. Over the last 24 years in the legal profession, Barki said he has strived to remember his blue-collar upbringing, which taught him to “act with integrity.”

“The attorneys who have dealt with me [over the past 24 years] may not have always liked what I had to say or the way I said it, but I always tried to be honest and fair to represent the state of West Virginia to the best of my ability,” Barki said.

Though his role in the judiciary has changed from attorney to judge, Barki noted “who he was” as a person would not.

“Just because you put on a black robe doesn’t automatically make you the smartest person in the room,” Barki said. “I will remember that. It is a fact that when you’re gifted or given the opportunity to become a judge, you have a great deal of power, and I’m looking forward to doing everything I can to ensure that justice is served here in the first circuit.”

The three other First Judicial Circuit Court judges and West Virginia State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, also took to the podium during the ceremony to share anecdotes from working in the legal profession with Barki and words of wisdom for him as he takes up the new role.

First Judicial Circuit Court Judge David Sims joked that he had the “most hair left” among the judges. Sims also gave Barki a word of advice for his new position: ” Always do the right thing.”

“There’s a guiding principle that has grounded me the past 12 and a half years as a judge that I’ve served on the bench, and that is the quote, ‘Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about,'” Sims said. “Be kind always, as kindness is always in short supply in our society. If you always do the right thing, justice will necessarily follow.”

Weld spoke next, recalling the three years he spent working for Barki as a research assistant while Barki was the Assistant Brooke County Prosecutor. Weld said during this time he got to know Barki not just as a prosecutor but as a person.

Weld said he could think of “no better person” that exemplifies the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct, the standards for judges to conduct themselves on the bench, than Barki.

Weld added that Barki particularly exemplified Rule 1.2, Confidence in the Judiciary, which states that judges shall always act to promote “public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

“Joe was always fair to people that came before the court, whether they were repeat offenders or it was the first time, they were treated fairly,” Weld said. “Oftentimes you are seeing people at their lowest point in the courtroom, and I saw time and time again how Joe handled people who were at the lowest points in their lives that now had to go through the entire experience of a courtroom. Joe always treated them with dignity and respect.”

First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Olejasz also recalled his time spent with Barki in the legal profession, from working together in the Ohio County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to Barki appearing in front of Olejasz in trials.

“He’s very intelligent, a hardworking lawyer and always prepared,” Olejasz said. “Joe has met a high ethical standard as a career prosecutor, and the people should be proud to have had him serve as a public servant for them. I have every confidence that Judge Barki will consider every case on its own merits and deliver true justice in a fair and impartial manner.”

First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo noted Barki’s 25-plus years spent as a public servant, from trooper to prosecutor to now judge.

“You’re going to carry that dedication into this job, and we expect great things from you,” Cuomo said.

Before he swore Barki in, Mazzone said he had the opportunity to have Barki in court on many occasions. Mazzone said Barki would serve the public well as a judge, just as he did as an assistant prosecuting attorney during the cases Mazzone had in court with Barki.

“Joe was always prepared, aggressive and always did a good job on behalf of his client,” Mazzone noted. “It was always my pleasure to have Joe in court and he will do a fine job as a judge with the First Judicial Circuit.”