Justice H.L. Kirkpatrick was elected to the Supreme Court on May 12, 2026, to serve out the unexpired six-year term of the late Justice Tim Armstead, and was sworn into office on June 12, 2026. 

Justice Kirkpatrick was born in Beckley and raised in Fayette and Raleigh Counties. He attended Nuttall High School for two years and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Kentucky and law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law. 

He started the practice of law in Pineville, Wyoming County, in 1976, with the law firm of Bailey, Worrell and Viers. He operated Kirkpatrick Law Offices from 1979 until 1985, when he joined the Beckley law firm of Ashworth and Ashworth, that became Ashworth and Kirkpatrick. 

Judge Kirkpatrick was appointed Circuit Judge of Raleigh County on September 28, 1995, and was re-elected to the office four times. He retired from the Raleigh County bench on December 31, 2024, and was granted Senior Judge Status on January 1, 2025. As Senior Status Judge, he presided over a highly publicized murder trial in Beckley and served as Special Judge of Circuit Court of Fayette County for four months. 

He is a Member Emeritus of the Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit and a West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow. He chaired the southern Fatality Review Team for 10 years and served as a member of the Judicial Investigation Commission for 16 years. He was recognized by the West Virginia State Bar in 2026 for 50 years of distinguished service to the legal profession. 

Judge Kirkpatrick and his wife, Becky, live in Beckley, and have twin sons and two grandchildren.