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Ohio County's newest magistrate has now been on the job for one month.
Magistrate Kevin Stryker was sworn in as magistrate by Circuit Judge Michael Olejasz on Nov. 22. Olejasz had appointed Stryker to the position on Nov. 1. He succeeded former Magistrate Charles Murphy, who retired effective Oct. 31.
Stryker has been practicing law in Wheeling for more than 40 years.
"I'm still a newcomer by Wheeling standards," he noted.
Stryker was born and grew up in the Hudson River Valley of New York, but found himself attending the West Virginia University School of Law in Morgantown.
He said a friend had suggested the law school to him, as it was "the cheapest in the land."
Stryker promised those at the law school interviewing him that if he were admitted, he would remain in West Virginia and serve the public.
"I was kind of what the city (Wheeling) is looking for now," he explained. "I was a WVU graduate. I knew no one in town. I was a young professional who moved here, stayed and became part of the community."
He is glad he did.
"It's a great place to live and raise a family," Stryker said. "There are cultural influences here. It's safe and just an hour from downtown Pittsburgh."
Stryker said in many ways the magistrate's job has been what he expected, while "in other ways it also has been enlightening."
There is a wide array of responsibilities the magistrate has in the judicial system, he explained. For example, it is the magistrate's duty to issue emergency petitions for domestic violence, personal safety orders, and orders involving emergency juvenile matters.
These matters are in addition to the traditional magisterial case load, Stryker continued. The docket typically includes criminal misdemeanors, felony preliminary hearings, search warrants, arrest warrants and civil matters.
"Things have been going very well," Stryker said. "I'm impressed with the quality of the Magistrate's Office. The county's residents should be confident the court operates as it should, and operates with respect for all that come in."
The Ohio County Magistrate Court conducts itself "the way the Supreme Court requires - with respect and courtesy to litigants, citizens, staff and counsel," according to Stryker.
"Staff in magistrate court - including the clerk Jerry Ames Jr. and his staff, as well as magistrate assistants - are dedicated in their administration of the cases," he said.