Chief Judge Thomas E. Scarr was one of the first three judges appointed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia by Governor Jim Justice.

He was born on May 7, 1956, in Owatonna, Minnesota. In 1978, he earned his bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of Virginia where he also served as a resident advisor and was on the wrestling team. In 1981, he received a law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. During his time at William and Mary, he served as Director of the Post Conviction Project, served as a legal assistant for the University’s Department of Business Affairs, and was assistant wrestling coach.

After clerking for the Charleston law firm Bowles Rice in the summer of 1980, he joined the firm in 1981 and practiced there for fifteen years, eleven years as partner. He practiced law at Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC, in Huntington, West Virginia from October 1995 until May 1, 2022, specializing in civil litigation, including personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice, toxic tort, construction law, and commercial litigation; labor and employment law; and white-collar criminal defense. He was sworn in to the Intermediate Court of Appeals on May 2, 2022.

He is a past president of the West Virginia State Bar (2021-2022) and Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia (2004-2005).

Chief Judge Scarr’s interests outside the office include music, photography, travel, biking, hiking, and camping. In the past, he has also enjoyed distance running, skiing, and he’s had several mountaineering adventures, including climbing Washington’s Mount Rainier three times and Mount Olympus.

He is married to attorney Patricia “P.J.” Scarr, and he is the father of three sons, two of whom are attorneys.